NBA Trade Rumors: Which Team Benefits More from the Hickson-Casspi Trade?
NBA Trade Rumors Abuzz with Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings Making a Deal
With the NBA's collective bargaining agreement due to expire at midnight (11:59 pm to be exact), there are precious few hours left for teams to deal. However, there has been a trade on Thursday, which will likely be the last we get before a lockout goes into effect.
Numerous media outlets and NBA writers, including ESPN's Marc Stein, are reporting that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings have agreed to a deal that has them swapping forwards. J.J. Hickson will go from Cleveland to Sacramento, and Omri Casspi will go from Sacramento to Cleveland. The Cavs also get a conditional first-round pick in the deal.
The deal is sudden, but it shouldn't really come as much of a surprise. Ever since the Cavs used the No. 4 pick in the draft on Texas power forward Tristan Thompson, Hickson became expendable. Instead of holding onto him for depth purposes, it made sense to deal him.
On paper, though, the Kings do seem to be getting the better end of this deal. Despite the fact Hickson was kind of an odd man out in Cleveland, he is still a very good player. He saw a big increase in minutes this past season, and he responded by posting 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
With Hickson in the fold, the Kings suddenly have a pretty formidable starting five. Presumably, he will play the three with DeMarcus Cousins staying at the four. Couple the two of them with a strong backcourt that includes Jimmer Fredette and Tyreke Evans, and it's apparent that Paul Westphal has some nice toys to play with.
All this being said, it's not like the Cavs are getting the short end of the stick in this deal. Casspi's numbers may not be very eye-grabbing, but he should fit in better with the Cavs than he did with the Kings. He's an above-average shooter, and he should prove to be very useful when Kyrie Irving drives and kicks.
Of course, things would be truly great for the Cavs if the first-round pick they're getting had any value. Sadly, it really doesn't. The pick is lottery protected in 2012, which is a bummer because the 2012 draft class is going to be very strong.
Still, this is a pretty even trade. If you must have an answer to the question about which team is benefiting more, I guess I'd have to go with the Kings, but only because I think Hickson is the more talented player.
Ultimately, this trade will be balanced by each team's win total. In order to find that out, though, we need a season.
