The Cavaliers have dealt 23-year old power forward/center J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for 23-year old small forward Omri Casspi and a conditional future first round pick. The pick is lottery protected in 2012. It is also somewhat protected all the way until the 2017 season, so if the Kings don’t make the playoffs for a while, the Cavaliers will have to wait for the draft pick. Hickson played in 80 games (66 starts) for the Cavaliers last year and he averaged 28.2 minutes, 13.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. In his three years with the Cavs, Hickson played in 223 games (139 starts) in which he averaged 20.9 minutes, 9.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.
Omri Casspi will be the starting small forward for the Cavaliers starting in 2011-12. Casspi played in 71 games (27 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 24.0 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has played in 148 games (58 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.5 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Casspi has shot 37.1% from three point range in his career so he should help the team spread the court a little more. I like the addition of Casspi, but I don’t think the Cavs got enough back for Hickson. The Cavs better hope that rookie power forward Tristan Thompson is ready to rock in 2011-12.