It had widely been speculated throughout the entire National Basketball Association that the Sacramento Kings were going to start trading some of their older veterans. That is because they had struggled mightily on the court and were regularly double digit underdogs against elite opponents. The bottom line is their veterans were not gelling as one of the league’s older teams.
On Sunday, the Kings made a three-way trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. The Kings traded guard Denis Schroder of Braunschweig, Germany and shooting guard Keon Ellis of Eustis, Florida to the Cavaliers. The Kings receive small forward De’Andre Hunter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the Cavaliers. Cleveland also acquired Canadian power forward Emmanuel Miller of Scarborough Ontario from the Chicago Bulls. The Kings also traded center Dario Saric of Sibenik, Croatia to the Bulls.
There were also two draft picks involved. The Bulls received a second round pick in 2027 from the Cavaliers and a second round pick in 2029 from the Kings.
The principal players in the deal are Schroder and Hunter. Schroder is actually joining his 11th NBA franchise. He previously played for the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings. Hunter is joining his third NBA team after previously playing for the Hawks and Cavaliers.
Hunter is averaging 14 points per game this season, 4.2 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game. He has a field goal percentage of .423, three point percentage of .308, and free throw percentage of .869. Schroder is averaging 12.8 points per game, 5.3 assists per game, and 3.1 rebounds per game. He has a field goal percentage of .408, three point percentage of .343 and free throw percentage of .820.
