Draft Night Concludes with J.J. Hickson Joining Cavs

One year ago, Delonte West was a member of the Boston Celtics. Traded on draft night alongside Wally Szczerbiak, West headed west and landed in Seattle to start the season for the Seattle SuperSonics.

Months later, West and Wally were packaged up again – this time headed back east. They arrived in Cleveland and worked to back up LeBron James for a team that hoped to get back to the NBA Finals.

The playoffs were difficult and despite bringing the Boston Celtics home for a Game 7 contest, the Celtics prevailed and dominated the rest of the playoffs, earning their 17th NBA Championship.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s now time to put additional pieces together so that the Cavs can once again reach the Finals. With the 19th Overall pick in this year’s draft, the Cavs selected J.J. Hickson, a Power Forward out of North Carolina State.

Here’s some of the feedback we came across from “experts” in the media.

First up, Chad Ford of ESPN:

I’m surprised they passed on local hero Kosta Koufos of Ohio State. But I do like Hickson, who’s a sleeper. He’s strong and athletic and he can score in multiple ways. He was 12-for-12 from the field in his first college game.

And next, a lengthy Strength/Weakness glimpse provided by nbadraft.net:

NBA Comparison: Chris Wilcox

Strengths: Very strong and mobile big man … In addition to great upper and lower body strength, he has a very long wingspan, making his package that much more promising … He has a nice first step that he utilizes effectively from the high-post, where he faces up and takes the ball to the hoop … Shows nice patience and understanding of how to get open in the post, working from block to block to receive a pass in the best possible scoring position … His repertoire in the post is decent and has shown some nice development; he can throw a variety of hook-shots, spin moves and up & unders at his defender from the block … He has a fadeaway that is very difficult to defend because he gets it off with a mix of shoulder fakes … Can be a difficult match up for bigger post players, because he has the body to mix it up inside, but also the speed and willingness to run the floor effectively … Uses his length to block a number of shots and alter many others around the basket … His broad shoulders allow him to clear space in the paint giving him a big advantage when it comes to rebounding …

Weaknesses: Is still not ready for the next level, could use an extra year or so of college to mature further and develop his game … Does not have the great leaping ability that so many other young 4 men in the league possess … Although he shows a strong preference towards operating from the high post, his almost non-existent jump shot and subpar ballhandling will initially restrict him to the low blocks … The limited range on his jumpshot can be attributed primarily to his flawed mechanics, as he does not square up to the basket and his elbow goes out too far on the release … His touch around the hoop is very unrefined and he struggles to catch passes while on the move, which raises some questions about his hands … He was able to get away with a lot offensively in college because he could always overpower the defender with his strength, but until he develops a dependable and consistent post up game he will struggle against the more athletic/aggressive players in the league … Although he has been able to limit his fouls, his defensive game has shown minimal growth … He is very undisciplined, leaving his feet to try and block every shot that is put up, he also gets out of position frequently, allowing his man to score with ease …

There’s lots more out there too if you just search around for it. Ultimately, only time will tell.

And, as we all know, a lot can happen in a year.

Tagged as: draft, jj hickson