The final weekend before the NBA trade deadline always brings plenty of clarity as to which teams will be the most active over the last week to make deals during the regular season, but this year’s deadline is very different. Trade intel around the NBA has been held up by discussions surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the market for star players being moved as a whole is quiet.
However, several teams are still attempting to make moves to improve their financial standing and add talent ahead of the playoffs. That brings us to our focal topic of the day, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers all being intertwined in trade talks revolving around De’Andre Hunter and Keon Ellis.
While these may not be flashy names like Giannis, Ja Morant, and Anthony Davis, Hunter and Ellis are two key talents who have been discussed in multiple trade discussions over the last month leading up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
As the only second-apron team in the NBA right now, the Cavs are attempting to lessen their financial burden while also remaining in a good position to contend in the Eastern Conference.
With this season not going how they had planned to this point, Hunter’s availability, along with another veteran player being dangled on the trade market, opens the door for Cleveland to adjust their salary sheet before the trade deadline.
Cavs attempting to trade De’Andre Hunter
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The Cavaliers do not necessarily want to see De’Andre Hunter walk out the door at the trade deadline, close to one year after they acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks. But the $24.9 million still owed to Hunter for the 2026-27 season is a problem for the Cavs, and there are avenues to receive the same production while lessening their payroll.
That is why Cleveland has been active in trade discussions over the last week with both the Lakers and Kings, league sources told ClutchPoints. The Cavs will only trade Hunter for cap relief and a player who can immediately fill his role on the wing. Over the last several days, sources said Lakers forward Rui Hachimura has been at the center of discussions between Cleveland and Los Angeles.
As reported by ClutchPoints on Thursday evening, the Cavaliers and Lakers have held direct talks about a trade involving Hunter. Along with Hachimura’s name being prominently featured, former first-round pick Dalton Knecht is a young talent sources say the Cavs like the idea of adding in a buy-low spot before the deadline.
These trade talks involving Hunter, Hachimura, and Knecht were also reported by Cavs reporter Chris Fedor on Friday.
The idea of including at least one other team has come up in discussions between the Cavs and Lakers, with the Brooklyn Nets being mentioned by league sources as a team willing to take on salary for draft picks. Los Angeles has expressed interest in Day’Ron Sharpe and Haywood Highsmith, yet the Nets have signaled that they do not hold interest in trading Sharpe at this moment.
Perhaps it would take extra draft capital, possibly a first-round pick, to lure Sharpe away from Brooklyn. The Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers have also inquired about Sharpe leading up to the trade deadline, sources said.
Although the Lakers certainly hold interest in the type of player Hunter is on the wing, given the organization’s clear need for a 3-and-D perimeter player next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James this season, concerns do exist in Los Angeles regarding the final year of his contract.
Even though their interest in Hunter is by no means exaggerated, the idea of flipping Hachimura and Knecht for Hunter without receiving any additional assets or draft compensation for the final year of his contract is something that has resulted in the Lakers taking a step back in discussions with the Cavs.
In addition to holding trade dialogue recently with the Lakers, Cleveland has also discussed a potential trade package involving Hunter with the Kings. Keon Ellis has been one of the Cavs’ top trade targets leading up to the deadline, as they join a group of several playoff-contending teams interested in the Kings’ swingman.
The Kings, who hold firm interest in adding Hunter as a contributor on the wing moving forward, presented the idea of trading Ellis and either Malik Monk or Dennis Schroder, league sources said. However, during discussions between Cleveland and Sacramento, it became clear that a third team must be included for such a move to happen.
Not only have the Cavs been discussing potential frameworks of trades involving Hunter, but they have also been discussing scenarios to trade Lonzo Ball, sources said. The goal in Cleveland is to shed long-term salary from their secondary players and move out of the second apron come time for the offseason.
The Cavs hold no interest in taking back any players with long-term contracts in any deal for Hunter, sources said. That is why this organization is prioritizing expiring contracts in their trade talks around the league. Should the Kings and Cavs find a third team interested in facilitating such a deal, then a trade sending Ellis to Cleveland would be likely.
At the same time, the Kings have hinted at wanting draft compensation from the Cavs, not just for trading Ellis, but also for aiding Cleveland by taking on the final year of Hunter’s contract. There are still several details to sort through if the Cavs and Kings are to make a trade revolving around Ellis and Hunter.
The potential framework of an Ellis-Hunter trade involving Dennis Schroder and Dario Saric was also reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Although there is still time for anything to happen before the trade deadline, such a decision to trade for Ellis and extend him in the offseason would be very telling as to what the Cavs think about the futures of Sam Merrill and Max Strus. Both players would likely come up in offseason trade discussions for the Cavaliers, especially since Strus hasn’t played to this point due to a foot injury and will be entering the final year of his contract.
Lakers pursuing Keon Ellis
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At the same time as the Cavs and Kings are discussing the potential of a trade involving Ellis and Hunter, the Lakers have not backed down from their pursuit of the Kings’ swingman.
Los Angeles has long been targeting Ellis during this season’s trade cycle, and the two teams spoke this past week again regarding the possibility of a trade, sources said. But the major roadblock in talks between the Lakers and Kings, other than Sacramento appearing to want a future swap from Los Angeles for Ellis, is that Sacramento also wants to attach Ellis’ contract with one of their veteran’s long-term deals.
Like the Cavaliers, such a scenario would have to involve at least one other team, and the Lakers have struggled discussing trades with certain teams able to absorb salary at the trade deadline due to Los Angeles’ draft asset vulnerability. The Lakers have not shown any willingness to part with future draft picks unless they can pull off a move similar to what the Phoenix Suns did last year.
In a trade with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix acquired three first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029 in exchange for its 2031 first-round pick. This allowed the Suns to utilize current draft picks that were locked as a result of the Stepien Rule.
Right now, the Lakers can only trade their 2031 or 2032 first-round picks, which has left them with little room to operate outside of their expiring contracts as trade assets.
Before the trade deadline, the Lakers’ priority is to add talent on the wing who can bring toughness and length on defense. Although there has been speculation about Los Angeles pursuing a center this trade cycle, those discussions will happen in the summer, when the Lakers have plenty of cap flexibility to operate.
Ellis and Hunter are both realistic options for the Lakers to add before Feb. 5, but if Rob Pelinka and his front office are unable to acquire either player, then this franchise may very well run out of options in a severely limited market for wings. Maintaining financial flexibility for the summer remains a core principle of what the Lakers are trying to achieve.
Kings discussing multiple options to sell at deadline
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In addition to trade talks with the Lakers and Cavs regarding Keon Ellis, the Kings have been fielding interest from virtually every contending team in the league, sources said. As we have been reporting for weeks, the Kings are extremely likely to trade Ellis, and this is a situation that could very much go right up to the trade deadline.
Although the Kings have been signaling that they would like a first-round pick for Ellis, that is unlikely to happen. Instead, sources say multiple teams have presented deals revolving around expiring salary and multiple second-round picks.
This could very well be a scenario where the Kings need to decide between second-round picks or a player like Hunter, who they hold firm interest in from a talent perspective.
Outside of the certainty of Ellis being moved before the trade deadline, whether or not the Kings can include Monk or Schroder in said conversations is a big question mark. While both veterans can help multiple contending teams right now, Monk and Schroder are under contract through the 2027-28 season.
Whereas Monk owns a $21.5 million player option in the final year of his deal, Schroder’s contract contains a partially guaranteed clause of $4.35 million, which could make the veteran point guard slightly easier for a team to absorb.
Teams like the Nets or Washington Wizards could be enticed to acquire Monk if they are to be given draft assets as well. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team who have spoken with the Kings about Monk in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, but no firm offers have been made on that front, sources said.
One other scenario that could see Monk or Schroder traded, outside of ongoing discussions with Cleveland and Los Angeles for Ellis, involves All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis being moved.
A few teams have a level of interest in Sabonis, but none more than the Toronto Raptors, who have been labeled as one of the most aggressive teams in trade conversations around the league this season. Much like they did a season ago before acquiring Brandon Ingram, the Raptors, as previously reported, have signaled that they are exploring the market for star-level talent.
Sabonis has been linked to the Raptors since December, and the main reason for this is because of ongoing concerns surrounding Jakob Poeltl’s back injury in Toronto. As the weeks have gone by, sources say the Raptors have brought up their willingness to part with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in talks with the Kings and other organizations as well.
Even though Sabonis continues to be connected to the Raptors, there has been internal pushback to such a move. Head coach Darko Rajakovic and many of the players, including projected All-Star Scottie Barnes, have signaled that they would like to see this group stay together and compete in a wide-open Eastern Conference playoff picture, sources said.
That is why the Raptors, amid interest in Sabonis, have also been seeking smaller moves involving Ochai Agbaji’s expiring contract to try to add depth while also moving below the luxury tax. League sources have indicated that New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi and Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze are two primary trade targets for Toronto outside of Sabonis.
Assuming the Raptors don’t make a trade for the Kings’ star big man, Sacramento will move forward with him on its roster through the end of the 2025-26 season. Whether the Kings would look to trade Sabonis in the summer is a question that will come up in discussions around the league after the trade deadline, that is, if he remains in Sacramento.
One other key name the Kings, who are operating as the biggest sellers at this trade deadline, haven’t been able to generate much of a market for is 36-year-old DeMar DeRozan. While the Kings held discussions earlier this season with the LA Clippers about a package involving Ellis and DeRozan, nothing ever came of such a scenario in Los Angeles. It is unlikely that the Clippers will revisit those talks, which the Kings were very much open to.
There were some talks weeks ago about the Kings approaching the Portland Trail Blazers about a possible Jrue Holiday for DeRozan type of swap, but nothing ever formed there either. Holiday is certainly a name to watch before this trade deadline, as the Blazers have been fielding interest for the veteran guard from several teams over the last few weeks and have been open to the idea of trading him.
The Kings, who are expected to trade Ellis over the next several days, are open for business before the trade deadline.
