The Atlanta Hawks made one of the most significant moves yesterday at the NBA Trade Deadline when they sent forward De’Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and future pick swaps.

There has been a lot of reaction around this trade and in an article from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, a Western Conference executive gave their thoughts on the Hunter trade, from a Cleveland perspective:

“They’ve been hunting size on the wing to match up with the Celtics and OKC and [other contenders],” a West executive said. “If he stays healthy, he could be the missing piece.”

You can read the entire piece here.

LeVert has appeared in 38 games (three starts) for the Cavaliers this season, averaging 10.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 23.8 minutes (.453 FG%, career-high .405 3FG%, .699 FT%). He has netted 10-or-more points in 20 of his 38 games this season, including two outings with at least 20 points.

In 35 games off the bench, LeVert has a total +/- of +247, the third-best in the NBA amongst all reserves and second-best for East reserves. He owns a .421 mark from three-point range off the bench this season, the eighth-best mark amongst all reserves in the league this season and third-best amongst Eastern Conference reserves (min. 100 3FGA).

The 20th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft has appeared in 498 career games (223 starts) over the course of his nine seasons, suiting up for Brooklyn, Indiana and Cleveland, averaging 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.8 minutes per game (.435 FG%, .346 3FG%, .737 FT%).

During the 2023-24 campaign, LeVert was the only reserve in the entire NBA to average at least 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal, ranking among top five in the NBA in points off the bench (third, 13.6), assists (third, 4.8) and steals (second, 1.09).

LeVert has seen action in 25 career postseason contests (10 starts), averaging 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 29.3 minutes of action.

Niang has appeared in 51 games (one start) for Cleveland this season, tallying 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.6 minutes (.477 FG%, .400 3FG%, .793 FT%).

The 6-7 forward netted a season-best 21 points on 7-9 shooting from the field (.778 FG%), including a 6-7 mark from three-point land (.857 3FG%), four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 29 minutes as a reserve on Jan. 25 against Houston. He’s one of only two reserves to score 20+ points on .750/.850 shooting splits in a single game this season (min. 9 FGA, 7 3FGA).

Selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 50th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Niang has appeared in 516 career games (30 starts), notching 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes (.445 FG%, .398 3FG%, .858 FT%). He’s only the 18th active player in the NBA drafted in the second round to have appeared in at least 500 games.

Throughout his nine-year career, the Lawrence, Massachusetts, native has played for the Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Niang has appeared in the playoffs in each of his last six seasons, including advancing to the second round in each of the last four seasons, owning playoff career averages of 4.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes.

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