Sacramento Kings acquire J.J. Hickson

(www.thesportsbank.net)

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward J.J. Hickson has been traded to the Sacramento Kings for guard/forward Omri Casspi and a lottery protected 1st round pick.

This deal doesn't make much sense to me. I know the Cavs needed to make room for Tristan Thompson, but Hickson is only 22. He's got tons of upside. Casspi is a solid player, and the first round pick is definitely nice, but I feel Hickson is worth more than that. If the Cavs really needed a small forward, they could have just drafted Jan Vesely instead of Thompson and kept Hickson, who's one of the up and coming power forwards in the league.

This deal is interesting for Sacramento too. It was a great move, considering Casspi wanted out anyway, but the Kings now have quite a few big men.

Draft Aftermath

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Unfortunately, I don't have a team by team breakdown of the draft. I'm good, but I'm not THAT good. I honestly don't know too much about this season's (If we have a season, which is a murky prospect at best) rookies, but I've seen enough of them to know that this draft definitely isn't as weak as many analysts are saying it is. There are some impact players that can help teams now, just not with their scoring. It seems like sometimes people lose sight of the other aspects of the game, such as defense, passing, and most importantly, leadership.

I was really impressed with Derrick Williams. I saw him on ESPN First Take and he had a confidence that was genuine and not arrogant. He looks to be a force in the league, and even though Minnesota isn't a great fit for him, it never seems to be a good fit for anyone (See any player that has ever played in Minnesota besides Kevin Garnett. Ever. Really, it's remarkable). If Michael Beasley is shipped out before the season, Williams will have a nice chunk of minutes to prove himself with.

Enes Kanter should be able to make an impact immediately in Utah, I'm just not sure how they are going to parcel out the minutes on that Jazz frontline. Between Al Jefferson, Memhet Okur, Paul Milsap, and Derrick Favors, Kanter might have trouble finding consistent minutes at first.


Final thought: After watching Jan Vesely's draft night video, I can't wait for next year's dunk contest.