Cleveland Cavaliers are not ready to go down without a fight. After resigning Kevin Love to a long-term deal, Cavs now decided to get reinforcement via trade by acquiring forward Sam Dekker from Los Angeles Clippers. As part of the trade, Clippers also sent draft rights to Lithuanian guard Renaldas Seibutis and cash consideration while receiving rights for Belarusian forward Vladimir Veremeenko.
OFFICIAL: #Cavs acquire F @dekker.
DETAILS: https://t.co/hKnPb2J0Fl pic.twitter.com/IA3NTV25T4
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) August 7, 2018
By trading for Sam Dekker, Cleveland Cavaliers added much-needed depth on the forward position. Los Angeles Clippers, on the other hand, freed up a roster spot by moving on from a player that wouldn’t receive much playing time in the next season. In the past season, Dekker averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
“We want to thank Sam for his contributions to our team competitiveness and culture this past season,” – said Clippers president Lawrence Frank. “Sam is a talented and hard-working athlete who represented this organization well as a player and a person. We wish him the best of luck with his opportunity in Cleveland.”
Sam Dekker was selected 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2015 NBA Draft. His rookie year didn’t go well as planned since Dekker struggled with back injuries which limited him to only three games in the season. He received more playing time in his sophomore season, playing 77 games and averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebound, and 1.0 assists per game. He was traded to the Clippers in the summer of 2017 as part of Chris Paul trade.
