NBA Trade Talk: J.J. Hickson to Sacramento Kings, the Cavaliers Will Regret This

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for Omri Casspi and a future first-round pick, as reported by The Miami Herald.

This is a bad trade for the Cavaliers because J.J. Hickson was the team's best player last year and did everything right. As you remember, the Cavaliers drafted Kyrie Irving with the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft—and then surprised everyone by taking Tristan Thompson at the No. 4 pick.  

This was a weird trade that surprised me.  

I heard rumors that they were going to trade him, but I thought if they were going to do it they would at least do it during the draft (and get a pick or two and a player then).

The Cavaliers drafted two good college prospects in this year's draft to help Hickson out. They had no one around him and he still put up his best year yet. Then they drafted players to help him out, only to trade him for Omri Casspi—who may not help the team in any way.  

Hickson was the face of the franchise once LeBron James left, but because they drafted Irving, Irving is now the next face of the franchise.  

If the Cavaliers wanted to win this year (assuming there is no lockout) they should have kept him. He rebounds well for his 6'9" size and he plays tremendous defense and can even score. 

I know that they would then have two undersized power forwards, but they could have put Tristan Thompson on the bench or played J.J. Hickson at center, like they did for most of last season.  

With a young team like the Cavaliers, Hickson was like a veteran; he was taught many things by LeBron James that improved his game, making him better and more focused.

Another reason I don't like this trade is because J.J. Hickson is only 23 years old—he is bound to get better once he matures, like most players do. He averaged 13.8 points per game last year and 8.70 rebounds per game as a 6'9" power forward.  

If you remember, the Cavaliers did not want to trade Hickson for Amare Stoudemire because they said they wanted to develop him and take it from there—but had they acquired Amare Stoudemire, they might have a ring right now because they were only one piece away from keeping LeBron James.  

Omri Casspi may help the Cavaliers out a little by rebounding and shooting the three well, but other than that I just don't like this trade at all. If they get someone good with the first-round pick from the Kings it will help them out in the future, but the good side of this deal won't be unfolded until the Cavaliers get that conditional first-round pick and select someone else.  

Hickson will be a great player for the Kings and I wish him best of luck. I also wish Omri Casspi luck and hope that the Cavaliers got this deal right.