What Cavs Think About Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder After De’Andre Hunter Trade

With the trade made official on Sunday afternoon, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder are now Cleveland Cavaliersand De’Andre Hunter he goes to the Sacramento Kings. That night, before and after Jarrett Allen put on a show against the Portland Trail BlazersThe Cavs reacted to the deal and how it will affect the wine and gold.

“It’s an unpleasant part of the job, especially when you’ve been with a guy for almost (a year),” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said in his pregame news conference Sunday. “Dre was the consummate professional. Team guy, heck of a player. We had a great experience with Dre. Great person.”

“But there’s an opportunity on the other side. That’s how this works. There’s only 450 of these guys. We got two really good players. So you just hope it’s a win-win situation.”

Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is rejoicing Schroder and Ellis join the team. Equally, he’s devastated to see Hunter’s time in Cleveland come to an end.

“It’s just the part of the job where it’s like, ‘D***.’ But also, we’re excited for what’s to come,” Mitchell said after Monday’s game. “You’ll understand afterwards; everyone in the locker room does, but Dre was phenomenal. He messaged everyone in the group chat.

“But for these guys coming in, we’re excited about what they bring, and we’ll see them soon.”

Mitchell felt the influence of both new teammates when the Kings were in Cleveland just 10 days ago, especially when Schroder scored 21 points off the bench.

“The first thing I think of with Dennis is the playoff series last year with Detroit,” Mitchell said. “His offensive defense, his disruption, we saw that last week. Obviously, he hit a lot of shots against us. He’s able to get the ball up. He’s able to initiate, create, find guys. He hits his little midrange, he hits his threes, and then also, as a disruptive player, he keeps us in the room. He’s responsible for us guys 1-15. I think he’s going to be great.

“With Keon, same thing. He’s obviously younger, but when we played him last year, I loved competing against him because he’s fiery. He’s full court. He’s energetic. He shoots well. So they both have a lot to help us in this group, and we’re excited.”

Atkinson has had first-hand knowledge of the tools Schroder possesses since entering the NBA. From 2013-16, he was an assistant coach at the Atlanta Hawks, with whom the 32-year-old international point guard began his career.

“Some guys you just describe with the word ‘competitive,'” Atkinson said. “We can go in any direction; the defense, he has a full field. He is in the elite competition bucket, always has been since he played in Germany.”

“I’ll say this: he’s a champion. I know in the NBA we’re not looking at (that), but European champion, world champion. There’s a lot of respect in the world basketball community for what he’s done. I’m looking forward to him integrating into the group. He’s going to play his role.”

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows when their relationship began. Atkinson described Atlanta’s coaches as a “pretty tough” group, which Schroder didn’t react well to at first. He and fellow assistant Darwin Hamm would relay information to him if he missed early meetings. Thanks in part to them, Schroder learned what the league required in terms of attention to detail and discipline.

“We’d have 8:30 ‘vitamins’ as we call them,” Atkinson said. “Game day, 8:30, you have to be there, and Dennis would be a few minutes late sometimes. There would always be something behind it. So me or Darwin, we’d be one of the guys breaking the news to him, whatever it would be like. So I saw him growing up, right?

“Obviously, his trajectory, he’s turned into this mature, incredibly responsible, incredibly professional guy. And his story is a lot of guys’ stories. They just have to learn. But we’ve been pretty tough on him. That’s how you kind of form even deeper relationships when you’ve gone through the beginning with a player. So it’s great that a lot of that goes into this stage and he’s very interesting. World basketball.”

Ellis is someone the Cavs also covet. Cleveland assistant Jawad Williams spent the last two seasons with the Kings as a player development coach, working with him before. Atkinson and Cleveland’s front office saw that as a “huge asset” and consulted on that knowledge as they discussed options.

“It always starts with the person,” Atkinson said. “Grade A+ right away. Jawad was a big fan. That’s part of the backstory you do when you make a trade like this.”

“Obviously, a really good guy for steals; steals and defensive activity. But probably an underrated offensive player because of his shooting. We’ll just see if we can unlock him because I think he’s more than just a shooter at the spot, from what I see with his athleticism. He reads the game well. But can we use him a little bit more as a cutter, and what’s the transition to the side? I’m incredibly excited to add him to the group.

Atkinson is still unsure what roles both Schroder and Ellis will play, as the transition is early.

“I can’t say I have a specific idea right now. It will play itself out,” Atkinson said. “Like anybody that comes in here, they have to earn their grade and their spot in the rotation. I’ll talk to both of them, I’ll talk to the staff, I’ll see what’s the best fit.”

The Cavs bid a fond farewell to De’Andre Hunter

Mitchell and Hunter were next to each other on the trainer’s tables when they first learned the news over the weekend.

“That’s my boyfriend. I love him,” Mitchell said. “We all wish him the best, and he’s been a hell of a player for us, a hell of a player in general. Sometimes things happen. This is a job. He’s a professional. He understands that. He works his ass off. I have no doubt he’ll continue to do that.”

“I was hurt,” Jaylon Tyson added. “I was super close with Dre. He’s like a brother to me now; he’s been with him for almost a year. He’s a great player. I’m excited for him and his new journey, and I hope everything goes well. With the new guys, I hope he comes in and helps us win some games.”

Allen echoes Tyson’s sentiments, noting that it’s hard to watch teammates throw out.

“For our part, we’re in business,” Allen said. “But when you make these personal connections, it’s always hard to see someone you play with even for a year; that’s a long time in the NBA. It’s hard to see him go.”

“But Kenny talked about how in situations like this you grow. You go to develop your basketball game. You go to grow as a person. I’ve been through that. I hope he goes on to something bigger and better.”

Unfortunately, Hunter didn’t function the way the Cavs saw last year and he felt that this season. Before explaining why he thought so, Atkinson credited Cleveland’s organization, from the front office to the coaching staff, for being unique in making the difficult decision to move on.

“Sometimes I think those things are the right circumstances,” Atkinson said. “We had a lot of injuries. Dre didn’t play with the lineups that he played with last year, but that’s true. He played with a lot of young players. So we never found a niche for him in terms of where he fit in this group, this year.”

“I think he was in pretty good shape last year, and he gave us everything we thought (we’d get). This is just a different year. Sometimes that happens in this league.”

after all, trade deadline time is uncomfortable for anyone in the NBA except those looking for a new environment.

“You just have to put your head down and keep moving,” Allen said. “Honestly, in this league, anybody can be traded when guys who are better than you want to be traded.

For the Cavs, it’s about staying the course and focusing on being where their feet are.

“You have to control what you can control,” Mitchell said. “One thing you can’t do is watch on Twitter. It’s funny. Everyone has their own little trade, what’s really going to happen. It’s funny how some people really have no idea what the hell they’re talking about.”

“That’s the business side of it. The emotional side, that’s tough. You understand this is a business. Keep your heads down, keep working, stick with the guys in the locker room. When you have a group like this, it’s easy to come together and rally around each other.”