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NBA trade deadline: Caris LeVert the lone Michigan alum moved

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•about 11 hours•

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NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
Feb 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) defends against former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) during the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone with one former Michigan Wolverines star on the move in guard Caris LeVert, who moved from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

LeVert was involved in Cleveland’s package to land DeAndre Hunter from the Hawks, along with Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two pick swaps.

LeVert, who is in a contract season, was a key bench piece for the Cavaliers in parts of four seasons from 2021-22 to this year. He is averaging 10.2 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.3% from the field and 40.5% from three.

Hunter was a coveted piece for Cleveland, averaging 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 points per game. He was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and now has a chance to be a major piece for the Eastern Conference’s best team.

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LeVert, 30, has had a long and productive NBA career to this point, having been selected in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft with the No. 20 overall pick by the Indiana Pacers before his rights were traded to the Brooklyn Nets that summer. He has played 498 games in his career with 225 starts, averaging 13.8 points, 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.

The Michigan alum was traded to the Pacers on Jan. 16, 2021 as part of a four-team trade with the Cavaliers and Rockets that sent James Harden to Brooklyn and Victor Oladipo. After the trade, he was sidelined after an MRI found a small mass on his left kidney, undergoing surgery to remove the pass that was revealed as renal cell carcinoma. He returned to game action on March 13 of that season.

Indiana traded LeVert to the Cavs in 2021-22 in exchange for Ricky Rubio, a 20213 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, where he has played since.

The Pickerington, Ohio native was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2014 at Michigan and averaged 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in his career. He played in 103 career games and was the 64th Wolverine to record 100-plus contests played. LeVert finished his career with 98 wins, which put him six away from the program record. Injuries limited him to only 35 games in his final two seasons in Ann Arbor – 14 (2014-15) and 21 (2015-16) – but LeVert was part of back-to-back Elite Eight teams in 2013-14 and was part of U-M’s national semifinalist team in 2013.

LeVert’s career has been fruitful from a financial standpoint, too. He has $91,859,171 in career earnings and is in the final year of a 2-year, $32 million contract he signed with Cleveland. He will be a free agent after this season.

LeVert was a late addition to Michigan’s 2013 class, having been committed to Ohio University before head coach John Groce left for Illinois, which opened the door for John Beilein and the Wolverines. His recruiting class also included Mitch McGary, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III.

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