NBA: Cavaliers trade J.J. Hickson to Kings for Casspi

NBA NBA Cavaliers trade J.J. Hickson to Kings for Casspi 30 Jun 2011, 7:28 pm CLEVELAND â€" Clearing out a logjam at power forward, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded J.J. Hickson on Thursday to the Sacramento Kings for forward Omri Casspi and a future first-round pick. Hickson's days in Cleveland were numbered when the club drafted Texas forward Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick in last week's NBA draft. Hickson has shown potential to be a star, but his on-court lapses frustrated Cavaliers coach Byron Scott last season. The 23-year-old Casspi averaged 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, his second in the NBA. The Cavaliers were in need of a small forward and Casspi will likely step right into Scott's starting lineup. "We're excited to add a young, talented, tough-minded player like Omri, that we feel is a good fit for our team and can help improve our perimeter group, while also being able to obtain another important asset with the additional first-round draft pick," Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant said in a statement. Casspi became the first Israeli ever to play in the NBA when he was drafted by Sacramento 23rd overall in 2009. The designation came with as much fanfare as it did pressure to succeed from a country that loves basketball. He started 27 games for the Kings, but his minutes were limited playing behind promising youngsters DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson and Donte Green. The Cavaliers said the first-round pick they obtained is lottery protected in 2012 (Nos. 1-14). The pick is then protected in 2013 (1-13), 2014 (1-12) and 2015-2017 (1-10). If the pick is not conveyed by 2017, then Sacramento will convey its own 2017 second-round pick to the Cavaliers. In addition to Hickson and Thompson, the Cavaliers have power forwards Antawn Jamison and Samardo Samuels. Hickson averaged 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds last season, but he had long stretches where he seemed to disappear. Scott was tough on Hickson, who did pick up his game toward the end of the season. "We're very excited about the opportunity to acquire J.J. Hickson from the Cavaliers," Kings GM Geoff Petrie said. "We believe he'll continue to fortify our frontline going forward. He's an improving young player who is just 22 years old. We believe J.J. will be an important complement to our frontcourt and overall roster as well." The Associated Press You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.