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CLE Receives: SF Justin Jackson, PF Skal Labissiere
SAC Receives: SG Rodney Hood, SG David Nwaba
With their first round pick in the coming draft ticketed for Boston or Philly, the Kings have no reason not to try and make the playoffs this year, and at just a game out, they're positioned to make a push.
Rodney Hood and David Nwaba both are well-positioned to strengthen the wing rotation in Sacramento. Hood could arguably step in and start -- though the Kings might not want to upset their rotations and send Iman Shumpert to the bench, and Nwaba is a high-effort-and-energy player who together with Hood would improve noticeably on the minutes currently being utilized by Jackson and Troy Williams.
As for the Cavs: Hood has no long-term future in Cleveland. He signed a one-year contract this past offseason to ensure that he would be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Nwaba chose a one-year deal over longer offers to build his value and sign a new deal himself. Both are as good as gone.
Labissiere, after showing some promise in his first two years in Sacramento, has officially been buried behind #2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III, and has no real future there. But this is still a player who was the second-ranked high school basketball player in his class in 2015, behind only Ben Simmons and ahead of Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown; he's well worth the Cavs taking a flier on him.
Jackson is the real price of admission for Sacramento, a mere year and change removed from being the 15th selection in the 2017 draft. But as an older draftee -- he's actually a year older than Labissiere despite having spent two fewer years in the league -- Jackson is closer to his peak, and less likely to see a dramatic improvement in coming years, especially with so much of the Kings' future offense running through DeAaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bagley, and others.
It's really a good trade for both teams. Sacramento gathers reinforcements for a stretch run without sacrificing any significant pieces of its future, while the Cavs, in a lost season, get to try out some young players who are still ascending in their careers, and with more minutes and opportunity may prove themselves pieces of a winning NBA team in time. They should get it done.