What the Cavs trade Hickson to the Kings?

It was announced today before the NBA lockout goes in effect that the Cleveland Cavaliers have traded J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for Omri Casspi and a first round pick in 2012.

So why would the Cavs trade their best player and former 1st round pick? I was starting to like the future of the Cavs with Hickson and this year 1st round pick Kryie Irving. Hickson who is 23 years old averaged 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds last season. Last season he was just starting to come into his own, he was the main focus of the offense with LeBron James gone.

With the 4th pick in this years draft the Cavs took power forward Tristan Thompson, I wondered why they took a player that the same position Hickson plays. The pick of Thompson was way too high for me; he is more of a mid first round pick. Thompson is still raw; he has a lot to work on. Now the Cavs will have to wait two or three years for him to develop; instead they could have just had Hickson who is coming into his own.

Thompson will be thrown into the fire right away and will have no time to develop. The Cavs have Antawn Jamison at the power forward position but he is undersized; same with Anderson Varejao at the center position. Look for Thompson to back up both positions.

What do the Cavs get in return? A player in Omri Casspi that only started 27 games last season. He is a player who goes all out and can shoot the three, but still he is not a starting small forward in this league. He will probably start for the Cavs since they have no body at the position.

Sure the 1st round pick the Cavs are getting is nice, but who knows what pick that will be.

I love this deal for the Kings they really don’t give anything away with Casspi and get a player in Hickson in return. Now, all the sudden the Kings have one of the better frontcourts in the NBA. In order to compete in the Western Conference this is key, as the other top teams have great frontcourts.

DeMarcus Cousins is coming off a rookie season in which he scored 14.1 points per game and 8.6 rebounds. The Kings also have Jason Thompson and who averaged 8.8 points per game last season. Cousins, Hickson, and Thompson can all play both the power forward and center positions; something the current Kings head coach Paul Westphal likes.

“He is a really good fit,” Westphal said. “All three of those players can play a little bit (of) center and power forward. It gives us a very solid rotation. (Hickson) has shown versatility and ability to fit in. I don’t think that you necessarily have to run every play for him to have him be effective. But at the same time, he can be effective if you run plays for him. He’s somebody that we are getting at a real good time in his career. He’s already shown a track record of success.”

I really like this deal for the Kings and hate it for the Cavs. Remember a couple of years ago the Cavs didn’t want to trade Hickson to acquire Amare Stoudemire. Now they trade him for Casspi that really doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, J.J. Hickson, Sacramento Kings