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Dan Gilbert exudes pride in Cavs as Cleveland fan favorites praise De'Andre Hunter trade
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- Dan Gilbert exudes pride in Cavs as Cleveland fan favorites praise De'Andre Hunter trade
CLEVELAND — As Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert chatted on stage Thursday night with his son Grant during the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards , someone in the audience yelled, "Buy the Browns !"
With the Cavs (41-10) leading the Eastern Conference this season and recently pulling off a significant trade with the Atlanta Hawks for De'Andre Hunter , Gilbert's approval rating is indeed higher than other owners of Cleveland professional sports teams.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, left, shares a laugh with his son Grant after being presented the lifetime achievement award during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
The crowd's reaction to Gilbert while he accepted a lifetime achievement award at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse reflected prosperous times for the franchise he bought in 2005.
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"I don't think that I expected — I don't think anybody expected — how good we would be this year," Gilbert said in front of the audience. "I think we were pretty confident we'd have a good team, and I think over the last few years you could see us building this."
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Cavs owner Dan Gilbert speaks after receiving the lifetime achievement award during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
What did the Cavs give up in the De'Andre Hunter trade?
The Cavs continued to build shortly before the NBA trade deadline expired at 3 p.m. Thursday. They agreed to send guard Caris LeVert , forward Georges Niang and three second-round draft selections to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Hunter. Early Friday morning, the team announced the deal, which also includes two pick swaps.
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The 6-foot-8, 221-pound Hunter is in the running for the league's Sixth Man of the Year award and fills a notable team need for a long, athletic wing.
Former Cleveland Cavs player Daniel Gibson is all smiles on the red carpet during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Former Cavs players Daniel Gibson and Austin Carr gave the trade rave reviews during interviews with the Beacon Journal.
"Caris and Georges are two really good friends of mine," Gibson said. "Love those guys — great, great, great players, and even better people — but the business of basketball always has to happen.
"What I feel like the Cavs need for a playoff push, De'Andre Hunter fits that bill perfect. Size on the wing, can shoot, toughness. I hear he's a good kid, so he'll fit right in with the crew. I think that was the perfect move."
Austin Carr chats with guests during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cleveland Cavaliers legend Austin Carr says he likes the De'Andre Hunter trade the Cavs pulled off with the Atlanta Hawks
Hunter is averaging 19 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season. He's shooting 46.1% from the field (39.3% on 3-pointers).
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"We haven't had true size with today's NBA [at the small forward position] like that," Carr said. "I like the trade.
"We have four or five starters that average double figures. I don't think it's going to be a problem. His personality, too, from what I hear, is very similar to what we have, and he's a competitor. He's going from an iffy situation to a chance to win a championship. I think he's going to be willing to do what he has to do."
Cleveland Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman, center, accepts the professional athlete of the year award on behalf of Donovan Mitchell as Tony Rizzo, left, and Daniel Gibson look on during the 25th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Gilbert praised Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman for his roster construction. Altman accepted the Professional Athlete of the Year Award on behalf of Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell .
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"Koby, who's here right now, his vision, and his front office has just done a tremendous job," Gilbert said. "They did it the three ways you can acquire players: trading, free agency and in the draft. He hit on all three of them. He built it brick by brick.
"It's a team effort. The team loves each other. It's not an individual effort. I mean, every player cares. Every player cares for each other."
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson and his players have touted the team's tight-knit nature. No one in Cleveland's locker room wants personnel changes to interfere with camaraderie.
"I think Koby does his homework at all times," Gibson said. "I don't think he would've even considered bringing a guy in that he felt like could disrupt what we feel like is our secret weapon, and that is our continuity and our chemistry."
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De'Andre Hunter's friendship with Cleveland Cavs guard Ty Jerome cited as a positive factor
Gibson noted Hunter's history with Cavs backup guard Ty Jerome could be instrumental. Hunter and Jerome are close friends who won a national title together at the University of Virginia in 2019.
Relationships aside, Hunter possesses attributes capable of enhancing the Cavs, especially because they have struggled at times this season against opponents with superior length. The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics are the prime example. The Celtics defeated the Cavs 4-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season and are 2-1 against Cleveland this season.
"Their wings have length," Gibson said of the Celtics. "We go out and find a wing that has some length, so that we're able to defend those guys and maybe get some stops on those guys. We don't put [point guard] Darius [Garland] on that island so much, even though he holds his own. Now they have another defender to worry about, so I think it adds to our depth and makes us a lot stronger team."
Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) dribbles against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) on Jan. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Cavs also became younger by acquiring Hunter, 27, for LeVert, 30, and Niang, 31. They avoided the luxury tax, too. Hunter is making $21.7 million this season, and he's under contract for the next two at $23.3 million and $24.9 million, respectively.
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"Hopefully this is a run that'll keep going for not just this year," Gilbert said. "I mean, we've got one of the youngest teams in the NBA, so when you think about that, we've got a great future."
The Cavs hope their future is bright enough to feature another championship. Gilbert characterized the organization winning an NBA title in 2016 "a beautiful moment" he will never forget.
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Dan Gilbert speaks about suffering a stroke and death of son Nick
As Gilbert reflected, he addressed his health issues and the death of his son Nick, whose portrait is tattooed on the Cavs owner's right forearm. Nick Gilbert died in May 2023 of complications related to a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes tumors to grow on nerve pathways in the body.
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"I got hit, unfortunately, five years ago with a stroke that came out of nowhere," Gilbert said. "As most people know, we lost our son a year and a half ago.
"We try to pay tribute to him every single day, and we feel him with us. He was one of the biggest Cavs fans you've ever met. He brought nothing but joy to this world, joy to the city, joy to the franchise."
All of the Gilberts are delighted about Cavs fans experiencing so much joy this season.
"We're going to continue, I think, to win this year," Gilbert said. "Of course, the playoffs are going to be very exciting."
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs' Dan Gilbert accepts honor after De'Andre Hunter trade
