Impressive interview w/ JJ Hickson

[Dime Dropper]

Doesn't seem to be a relevant thread for this, and I thought it's worth sharing.

JJ Hickson was traded on June 30 to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Omri Casspi just hours before the collective bargaining agreement expired and the NBA locked out its players. After being selected 19th overall in 2008 by Cleveland, Hickson averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds for the three years he played as a member of the Cavaliers.
This past season he made 66 starts for the Cavs, averaging 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field. Hickson will enter his fourth year in the League as a member of the Kings—as soon as this lockout ends—and he’s still only 22-years old. I caught up with JJ this last Thursday and we talked about the trade that sent him to Sacramento, his time playing in Cleveland and the next chapter of his NBA career.




SLAM: Were you surprised when the trade was announced, how did you find out, and what if any conversations did you have with Cavs GM Chris Grant about the decision?
JJ Hickson: As far as me and Chris Grant, I wish him the best, I wish the organization the best, but we didn’t have any conversations that afternoon as far as which direction the organization was heading in. I got the call from my agent the morning of the trade to let me know that it was a process that was in motion, and by the time I got up there and was getting ready to go to my workouts I got the call again. My agent Andy Miller told me the trade was finalized then, and that I was going to Sacramento.

To read more, and it's well worth it, go here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2011/07/jj-hickson-qa/


Seems like an intelligent young man who knows his weaknesses and wants to work on them. He's also aware of the perception that he's at times unmotivated, for lack of a better word, and has acknowledged his rocky relationship with Byron Scott. Wants to dispell this perception.


He speaks well and having read some interviews with him, I'm much less worried about his attitude and approach than I was previously. I think he could be a very solid player for us, and might even push for a starting place if he comes in with the right work ethic (depending on FA).

 

[Kingsguy881]

JJ Hickson is a beast. Those who weren't on board with this will have a lot of crow to eat.

 

[Agent23]

Nice. I'm pretty excited to see him develop and the rest of the team develop together.

 

[Demarcus Cousins]

remember when espn said hes the next karl malone???

 

[bajaden]

Nice read. He's very well spoken, and I like what he says. He's a very good athlete, so the sky's the limit if he puts in the work. Sounds like he intends to. Thanks for the post Dime...

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I'm pretty impressed with him after reading this interview. Introspective, open, ambitious while still humble, self-aware. Obviously these are just words from his mouth and not actual production on the floor, but the fact that he knows he's nowhere near where his potential says he should be is encouraging. Too many guys think they've already arrived when they're not even close. I don't get that from him.

 

[The Hammer]

Great trade. And yes, we can say that before the friggin 15th pick or whatever has a full NBA career. Remember when you trade, you are trading away YOUR assets. What things mean to YOU. You are not trading away a future fully developed player. Omri and our first round for this guy is... a total steal for us. I'm so ding dang sick of people bashing Petrie. How many (some might say barring the Salmons deal) great trades is that lately now? Dally... Thornton... Hickson... (I even like the Kmart trade at the time).

 

[est.1999]

I can't stand some people. Look what this moron had to say:

"MUBWAR Posted: Jul.18 at 1:30 pm
best answer by far : JH: I’ll be honest with you, I think they rushed to judgment a little bit. But, they got what they got and the Kings got a great player in JJ Hickson. So when the season starts, we’ll see how it pans out from there. still a scrub though. Maybe 15 and 8 a night but that’s it."

15 and 8 a night is scrub material? Since when?

 

[Sac.1989]

Let them call it whatever they want. One thing we all know is with JT & JJ continually developing we have a potent bash brothers combo off the bench if we get our starting C to go with DC

 

[Kingsguy881]

Let them call it whatever they want. One thing we all know is with JT & JJ continually developing we have a potent bash brothers combo off the bench if we get our starting C to go with DC

DeMarcus probly is our C. Not a defensive stalwart but has the body and skill set to be a very good 1 on 1 defender, after shedding about 10 lbs of course. However, can you argue with his offensive production in the middle?