Reaction: Hill To Bucks In Three-Team Trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded George Hill and a 2021 second-round pick to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and two future draft picks, a 2021 first-rounder and 2021 second-rounder.

The Washington Wizards acquired Sam Dekker to make it a three-team deal and subsequently sent Jason Smith, an unprotected 2020 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to the Bucks.

The Cavaliers created as $2.76 million trade exception and the Wizards created a $2.68 million trade exception stemming from the transaction, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.

The Milwaukee picks going to Cleveland are both protected under specific parameters. The Bucks are sending a first-round draft pick that is lottery-protected in 2021, but will likely go to the Phoenix Suns due to the Eric Bledsoe deal last season.

Per reports, chances are the pick will be conveyed to the Cavaliers in 2022, when it is top-10 protected, meaning the Bucks would have to finish in the bottom third of the league standings that year.

If Milwaukee’s first-round draft pick does not convey by 2024, it will send its own 2024 and 2025 second-round draft picks to Cleveland.

For a more detailed look at the protections, here’s an overview:

2021: Top-14 protected
2022: Top-10 protected
2023: Protected 1-10 and 25-30
2024: Top-8 protected

In summation:

MIL gets: George Hill, Jason Smith, removed protections on Bucks 2020 2nd round pick (via Wizards in Jodie Meeks trade with Bucks), Cavaliers 2021 2nd round pick (via Wizards from Jazz), cash considerations from Wizards

CLE gets: Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Bucks 2021 1st round pick (protected), Bucks 2021 2nd round pick, Wizards 2022 2nd round pick

WAS gets: Sam Dekker

So let’s look at this deal for all three sides.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks offloaded two contracts they were looking to shed, and they found a partner to do so. It didn’t cost much other than the picks, and those were heavily protected anyways. Plus, if you’re Milwaukee, it’s not about the future anymore. It’s about right now.

George Hill is a veteran with plenty of postseason experience and has plenty left in the tank to offer on the court. Before he went down with a shoulder injury, Hill was shooting the ball extremely well—a career-high 46.2 percent from three—and, when assuming Cleveland’s scoring responsibility, he showed his worth. The Cavaliers loved him as a leader in the locker room and for being the consummate professional that he is. He just didn’t fit the team’s timeline and the writing was on the wall with Colin Sexton’s development.

It’ll be intriguing to see how Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer decides to use Hill. He’s a versatile guard who can work the pick and roll, as well as play off-ball. Milwaukee has Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon working together at the moment, so it’s unlikely he’ll split that pairing. Hill could be primarily a part of the bench unit, but there’s no question Budenholzer will find a way to find playing time for him with the ones.

Jason Smith is a serviceable big who will probably serve as an insurance policy in the event of an injury. The 32-year-old is more of a traditional center, but has proved on a few occasions that he can step up and knock down shots. The Bucks already have guys like Brook Lopez and Thon Maker to play at the five, but if somebody goes down, it’s not bad to have a backup plan.

Cleveland Cavaliers

This is the second trade the Cavaliers have made in the last week. Last Friday, they moved Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz and landed Alec Burks along with two future second round picks. Now, they’ve executed another one.

It’s well-known that Cleveland is actively searching to take on sizeable contracts that teams want to rid themselves of, with the reason being that those contracts will likely have draft picks attached to them. As an organization looking towards the long-term, asset accumulation mode is in full effect. They’re not done by any means.

Taking a glance at the players the Cavaliers received, they’re quite familiar with one. Matthew Dellavedova—nicknamed “Delly”—is a fan favorite of the city and was a part of the 2016 NBA Championship version of the wine and gold. In his last two seasons with the Bucks, he’s dealt with injuries and he’s been kicked from the rotation. Maybe a return to the franchise that gave him an opportunity will do some good.

The other player in this trade is John Henson, a former lottery pick in 2012 out of North Carolina. As this writer guessed before the season started, Henson was always going to be the odd man out in Milwaukee. The system changed with Budenholzer coming in and the team added two stretch bigs, Ersan Ilyasova and Brook Lopez, to the mix. To the 28-year-old center’s credit, he did a solid job of adjusting.

Regardless, Henson tore a ligament in his left wrist and will possibly be out until after the All-Star break. When he’s on the floor, he is a hustler and a big man that provides second chance opportunities. Henson will use his length to his advantage and get you blocks as well.

Both Dellavedova and Henson are under contract for the next two years, including this season. Whether they’ll be a part of the Cavaliers for more than a short stay we’ll have to wait and see.

Washington Wizards

Just when we thought the trade was complete between Milwaukee and Cleveland, the Wizards decided to jump in and get some help on the wing. They had little use for Jason Smith in trending towards small ball, so they found somebody in Sam Dekker who fits those current needs much more naturally.

Dekker has been hampered with a left ankle sprain since early November. He had started in five of the nine games he played in. What he is best used for is backdoor cuts on the baseline, as Dekker is somewhat of a slashing hybrid between a wing and a big.

His biggest career knock has been an inability to shoot consistently, but on the bright side, Dekker has hit a career-best 38.5 percent of his triples. That is within a small sample size, though (5-for-13). In any case, he’ll help space Washington’s offense more and might actually be able to get some playing time—depending on what head coach Scott Brooks decides to do.

There was a lot of moving pieces and parts in this three-way Eastern Conference deal.

We’ll see how things turn out for everyone as the season progresses.