The message from Cavaliers forward De’Andre Hunter was direct and unmistakable.
“I haven’t said a word about nothing to nobody,” Hunter told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com following shootaround Wednesday morning at Temple University. “Not about wanting to be traded. Not about anything. When I saw the article, I was just as surprised as you probably were.”
Asked plainly whether he wants out of Cleveland, Hunter did not hesitate.
“No,” he told Fedor. “Why would I want to be traded? I’m happy here for real. I have no reason not to be happy here. My time here has been great.”
Trade chatter has swirled as Hunter works through a difficult stretch, but league sources told Fedor that while the Cavs have received offers for multiple players, including at least one involving Hunter, those inquiries have been rebuffed so far. One source said the Cavs “don’t want to move Hunter” unless circumstances change dramatically or a deal clearly represents an upgrade.
From Hunter’s perspective, patience matters.
“People tend to put a timestamp on how things should look,” he said. “But I think with anything new, it takes time. You’re not going to get the best product right away.”
The Cavs remain cap-strapped and focused internally, with a continued desire to see what this group looks like closer to full strength. Inside the locker room, support for Hunter has not wavered.
“It’s not clicking,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think it’s a prolonged batting slump. It happens in every sport… He’s too good of a player to be playing like this. He’ll turn it around. We need him.”
Cavs star Donovan Mitchell echoed that belief.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Mitchell said. “We believe in him. We trust him every day… We have our arms around him.”
Hunter says he’s learned to block out the noise.
“I just continue to work,” he said. “I believe the work is always going to show itself. And in the end, you’re always going to see it.”
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Cleveland media.. why do we do this to our home team players?
Maybe ask for comments on the article, if he’s read it. Rather than putting him in the same sentence as “wants out”. Why are we framing questions as if the internet is correct, please prove it wrong? It’s just not a nice way to talk to people. When you get the response “Why would I”… you may be fishing in the wrong pond.
But now that Fedor’s gone there, and got a very solid straight forward answer from Hunter. What is he going to do with it? Didn’t the article mention the agent? And not Hunter? Why ask Hunter if his agent wants him out of Cleveland. That’s what the article inferred. So will Fedor attempt to clarify about the agent in any way? Any follow up for the fans whatsoever on the article that he used to justify that question?
Or is the only idea of these awkward questions to put people on the spot.
Imagine being in a relationship and the other person infers you want to leave the relationship. Without any source whatsoever other than rumors of others, and even those rumors do not say that about Hunter. It says it about his agent. Correct? (I try not to click on fake articles).