The Cleveland Cavaliers will be out for blood next season after they were humbled by the Indiana Pacers to end their dream season in which they won 64 games and entered the postseason as a title favorite. The Cavs might simply be running it back, with their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen still complete, but they certainly have enough talent around those four to get the job done if their regular season record last season is any indication.
Whom the Cavs decide to put in the starting lineup alongside those four, however, remains up in the air. With Isaac Okoro now with the Chicago Bulls following their trade for Lonzo Ball, the Cavs now have one fewer option to start at the three. But it looks like that won’t matter at all, since the Cavs, according to the rumor mill, already have their sights set on De’Andre Hunter being their starting small forward next season.
“THE STARTING SMALL FORWARD … will be De’Andre Hunter, unless there is a change of plans. Max Strus is out for several months after foot surgery. The Cavs already were looking at Hunter as a starter before the injury to Strus. I was told Hunter ‘looked great’ in the summer workouts. Hunter was hampered by a thumb injury in the Indiana series. But I also heard he was dealing with some other lesser injuries. He’s healthy now,” Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com wrote.
Strus could have been in line for the starting job, especially when he’s a movement shooter who can thrive without having consistent touches. But Strus had surgery in late August and is expected to miss three to four months, and a return before the new year starts appears to be the most likely outcome for the Cavs’ marksman.
Nonetheless, Hunter is a very capable starter, and the Cavs will be thankful that they acquired him prior to last season’s trade deadline.
De’Andre Hunter provides size and shooting for the Cavs on the wing
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Hunter is coming off a monster shooting season in which he made 2.5 triples per game on over 40 percent shooting from the field for the entire season. He may not be as adept at shooting off the move like Strus is, but Hunter can do more off the dribble, provides more size than him at 6’8″, which the Cavs might need considering their undersized backcourt duo, and is overall a better player than Strus.
The Cavs are certainly going to be in good hands with Hunter.
