Death, taxes, and the Sacramento Kings making bad trades — few things in life are fully guaranteed, but each of those can always be counted upon in their reliability. A couple nights of sleep have not removed the thought of just how badly the Cleveland Cavaliers got one over the Kings.
Rob Pelinka watched two players who have been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers involved in the same trade. De'Andre Hunter is on his way to Sacramento. Keon Ellis is departing for Cleveland.
The Lakers should feel fine about missing out on Hunter. That's not the problem. However, watching Ellis be involved in that trade package after all the rumors leading up to the deal has to sting extraoridnarily.
Cleveland’s savvy trade leaves Sacramento reeling and Lakers fans in disbelief
The Kings held the most in-demand 3-and-D player on the trade market. There were talks about Ellis getting moved for a first-round pick. Scarcity created what should have been the perfect set of circumstances for Sacramento to get real value for their two-way guard. They blew it.
It comes as such a genuine surprise that all the Kings managed to secure for both Ellis and Dennis Schroder was Hunter. That feels especially puzzling considering what Jake Fischer had reported about the value of the Cavaliers forward just a few days ago.
Fischer wrote, "Sources say that the Cavaliers, meanwhile, are engaged in various conversations on De'Andre Hunter, but many teams view his $20-plus million salary for next season as negative value when also factoring in his injury history."
Apparently, the Kings are not one of the teams who looked at his contract and thought the same thing. That is unfortunately unsurprising.
Hunter was having a brutal campaign with the Cavaliers in 2025-26. His efficiency as a scorer had dipped mightily and his defense was downright atrocious. Cleveland should have been in a position where they were selling low on their struggling forward.
Instead, they managed to flip him for the top target on the trade market in his respective archetype and a reliable backup point guard. Make all the jokes you want about Schroder, but he'll be a definitive boost for the backcourt group in Cleveland.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are sitting tight without a peep or a sound from their direction just yet. Would Ellis have been a needle mover (on his own) for Los Angeles? Probably not. Does seeing him go to the Cavs sting for Lakers fans considering how low the price of acquisition was? Absolutely.