Cavs acquire rights to Kansas' Jackson, Kaun New York, NY (Sports Network) - The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired the draft
rights to forward Darnell Jackson from the Miami Heat in exchange for the
lower of the Cavaliers two second round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Cavs
also purchased the rights to center Sasha Kaun from the Seattle SuperSonics.
Jackson was taken 52nd overall while Kaun was selected 56th.
Both Jackson and Kaun were four-year members of the Jayhawks and helped lead
Kansas to the 2008 NCAA Championship and four straight Big 12 regular season
titles.
The New York Knicks have long been the rumored destination for LeBron James when he becomes a free agent in 2010, but the New Jersey Nets may have put themselves in a better position to sign him by acquiring contracts that expire that summer, according to the Miami Sun-Sentinel.
Our View:Acquiring Bobby Simmons and his contract that expires in 2010 will free up enough cap space for the Nets to go after James. His friendship with Jay-Z, a part owner of the team, certainly won't hurt when the team tries to acquire him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have selected NC State forward JJ Hickson with the 19th pick in tonight's NBA Draft.
Our View:Hickson is a strong player and could prove to be a perfect selection for the Cavs. LeBron has longed for an offensive force down low and Hickson is that player. He needs to improve his defense and rebounding a bit, but the skills to become a talent in the professional ranks is certainly there. This could be one of the better picks of the late first round.
New Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh isn't just building for the near future. His long-term plan calls for the Knicks to land LeBron James when the superstar becomes a free agent in two years, the New York Daily News reports.
Our View:The Knicks will presumably overhaul their roster to include young talents and expiring contracts. They're putting a lot of eggs in the LBJ basket and presuming LeBron will want to leave his native Ohio two years from now. The fallback may be that they end up with enough cap space to pursue other studs in 2010, like maybe Dwyane Wade.
