The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised some of their fanbase Saturday night when they traded De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
It was a move that makes some sense on the court, but it also makes immense sense financially, as the Cavs save about $50 million via luxury tax implications by making this move.
It also gets Cleveland within range of getting below the prohibitive second apron line of the salary cap which greatly limits roster flexibility.
What else do they have to do? Mainly, they have to trade Lonzo Ball.
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He has been a failure as a potential backup point guard after being acquired in an offseason trade for Isaac Okoro. Cleveland isn't playing Ball in any meaningful minutes anymore.
The Cavs will likely have to attach a draft pick to him to get another team to take him, but it would be worth it.
They still would then need a couple small deals at the back of the roster, but they can truly get under the second apron now:
The Cavaliers are now a Lonzo Ball and two minimum salaries dump away from getting under the second apron.
They have three second-round picks remaining to facilitate such moves. https://t.co/xJzfbP1ncO
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 1, 2026
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The NBA's salary cap rules can be quite complicated, but the simple reality here is that now that the Cavs are so close to getting under that line, they'll do what they can to make it all the way before the Feb. 5 trade deadline passes.
Ball made it easy by being pretty much unplayable, as long as another team is willing to take on his contract.
And if Ball gets moved this week, know that the Cavs have executed what appears to be their trade deadline plan. The Hunter trade got good basketball players in return. The rest of the moves will be about lining up the salary situation to allow for key moves in the future.
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