Cavaliers Insider Shoots Down Suggestion to Change Starting Lineup

De'Andre Hunter could be best off as the sixth man for the 2025-26 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded away Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two potential future first-round pick swaps to the Atlanta Hawks for De'Andre Hunter. That's a pretty significant haul, but ultimately still a bargain for a player of his caliber who's under contract for the next two years.

He justified the move by putting up 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and a stock in 25 minutes per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep for the Cavs. He wasn't quite as effective in the postseason, but that could be attributed to the dislocated thumb he suffered in Game 1 of the second round against the Indiana Pacers.

In the opening series versus the Miami Heat, he went for 13.0 points in just 22.2 minutes per game and knocked down 49 percent of his shots, including a scorching 62 percent from beyond the arc. In the next round against the Pacers, his averages dropped significantly to just 9.0 points in 24.1 minutes, shooting just 37 percent from the field and 31 percent on triples.

The team and its fans are excited to see what he can do when he's back healthy and in a full season within Head Coach Kenny Atkinson's system. Between Hunter's capabilities and the price Cleveland paid to add him, some of the Cavs faithful are hoping to see him inserted into the starting lineup in place of Max Strus at small forward.

He only played five games with the first unit last season, none of which came in the playoffs. Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor believes that this was by design and isn't likely to change next year:

"Whether it was as an assistant or the two stints as head coach, Atkinson has always had a player like Strus. At least, stylistically... While Hunter is probably more talented, he is not the better stylistic fit and there is no hard and fast rule that the team’s five best players must be in the starting group together... Wouldn’t it be better for the Cavs, who lost steady sixth man Ty Jerome, to have a prolific scorer coming off the bench?"

There are sure to be some matchups where the Cavaliers will want Hunter's defense starting on the wings, particularly in the playoffs. Regardless of how often he starts for Cleveland next season, though, he's sure to garner some of the most playing time on the roster and will be crucial to the team's success.