The Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to terms on a trade Friday that will send veteran point guard George Hill to the Bucks and Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson to Cleveland.
The Bucks are also shipping a 2021 first-round pick and 2021 second-round pick to Cleveland, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Cavs forward Sam Dekker was also involved in the trade with Hill, however, according to Brian Windhorst, the swingman will be sent to the Washington Wizards for big man Jason Smith along with a second-round draft pick.
With the departures of both Kyrie Irving, hometown hero LeBron James and a 5-19 start to the season this year, it’s safe to say that the Cavs aren’t the team to beat in the East anymore. So, the rebuild begins. And it’s all coming just two seasons after winning their first NBA championship in franchise history in 2016.
The Dellavedova trade is probably something Cleveland fans will smile about as the Australian-born point guard spent his first three years in Cleveland. He also helped the Cavs in their 2016 title run and was a crowd favorite during the 2015 NBA Finals. However, since leaving Cleveland, you haven’t heard his name as much.
Last year, Delly averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 assists in just under 19 minutes per contest and only played 38 games. This season his numbers have taken an even further dip as the 27-year-old point guard is averaging 1.7 points and 2.4 assists per game thus far. However, an ankle injury has limited Dellavedova to only 12 games this season.
This trade for Cleveland gives them a player that can possibly teach Colin Sexton and help him in his development as an NBA point guard. Also, this gives you a decent point guard off the bench since it seems that the Cavaliers are looking to remove all their veteran pieces. In addition, Cleveland also got some draft picks in the deal as well, and that’s something that they want more than anything at the moment.
For Milwaukee, this trade helps them now and possibly a year from now. Milwaukee needs a point guard off the bench. Malcom Brogdon is having a great season as well as Eric Bledsoe, but with this trade you can now move Brogdon to the two spot and have Hill play the one. So, this was a good shake up trade for Milwaukee.
Additionally, the Bucks also get a guard who’s been deep in the playoffs multiple times with teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is something you need as a team who really looks to make noise come playoff time. Not saying Hill puts you over the top, but he gives you that voice in the locker room and a dependable option at guard during the playoffs.
Hill’s defensive mentality and three-point shooting (46 percent this season) should come in handy as well for Milwaukee.
However, where this helps the Bucks in the future is that they saved some cap room with this trade. The trade gives Milwaukee $18million in cap space for the 2019-20 season and if they choose to not keep Hill it bumps to $19 million.
Furthermore, it would seem that Milwaukee wants to sign two out of their three upcoming free agents next year in Bledsoe, Brogdon and most importantly Khris Middleton. The trade now gives you flexibility to sign one or two of those players in the offseason.
In a way, the trade helps both teams for the future. Milwaukee gets cap room and Cleveland gets their picks as their “Trust the Process” phase commences.
