TRADE: Cleveland Cavaliers And Sacramento Kings Make A Deal

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 02: General manager Koby Altman of the Cleveland Cavaliers is interviewed during media day at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 02, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

On Tuesday night, the NBA Draft is taking place at Barclays Center in New York.

Towards the end of the night, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the news that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings had made a deal.

Charania wrote: “Sources: Cleveland is trading No. 29 to Sacramento for No. 34 and a future second-rounder. The Kings are interested in UConn’s Alex Karaban at 29.”

Shams Charania

@ShamsCharania · Follow

Sources: Cleveland is trading No. 29 to Sacramento for No. 34 and a future second-rounder. The Kings are interested in UConn’s Alex Karaban at 29.

11:21 pm · 23 Jun 2026

1605 Reply Copy link Read 137 replies

Looking At Karaban

Karaban played all four seasons of his college basketball career at UConn.

The two-time NCAA Champion finished last season with averages of 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest while shooting 46.4% from the field and 37.4% from three-point range in 40 games.

Social Media Reacts

Here’s what people were saying about the trade:

James Ham: “League source confirms that the Sacramento Kings have traded the 34th pick and a future second round pick for the No. 29 pick where they will select Alex Karaban. Karaban stood out in his visit with the Kings with his shooting and positive approach. Kings got a glue guy.”

@TorresOnUConn: “Alex Karaban is OFF THE BOARD AT NO. 29 AND HEADED TO THE SACRAMENTO KINGS!!! Could not be happier for AK, who pushes himself into the first round – and a spot where he’ll get PLENTY of playing time 😤😤”

@JackMac: “Everyone told Karaban to get a job for the past 2 years. Was the most stale joke in college basketball. Ends up as a 1st round pick. Apologize to him. Now.”

Brian Geltzeiler: “Also really like what Sacramento did tonight. Got two guys who showed they can be major contributors in college in Acuff and Karaban but in different ways. Karaban was an elite role player with great tournament success and Acuff showed in one year that he can be a dominant offensive lead guard”

Bobby Marks: “Pick 29 has a $3M value in year 1 Second rd pick $1.35M”

Looking At The Cavs

The Cavs are coming off a season where they were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 52-30 record.

They lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Looking At The Kings

The Kings are coming off another tough year where they missed the NBA playoffs.

They were the 14th seed in the Western Conference with a 22-60 record.