J.J. Hickson is Unhappy With Bench Role

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

To say that J.J. Hickson and his new coach, Byron Scott, have not seen eye-to-eye this season would be a vast understatement. Hickson’s play has been up and down, leading to inconsistent minutes.

Scott has relegated J.J. to the bench, and it’s not sitting well with the young forward (pun intended.) He says that everyone in the organization knows of his unhappiness, but that he’ll deal with it in a professional way.

The Plain Dealer reports:

J.J. Hickson entered his third NBA season as one of the Cavs’ promising young talents. The 6-9 forward already has poured in team-high 31 points in a game this season and is tied for second in rebounds. But inconsistent play has cost Hickson his starting job, and coming in off the bench isn’t sitting well. “I’m not adjusting very good,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any secret. Coach [Byron Scott] knows I’m not happy. My teammates know I’m not happy. But as a professional basketball player, you deal with it as a pro.”

Hickson wasn’t particularly pleased with how the demotion was handled. “The night I didn’t start I didn’t know I wasn’t going to start until 30 seconds before we went out to go warm up,” he said. And he wasn’t thrilled with how Scott explained what he has to do to change the situation. “[Scott] said, ‘Play with energy,’ which I think I do, and that was about it,” he said.

Byron Scott has taken to using tough, at times unreasonable love on the struggling Cavs this season. It has not worked out very well.

It might be time to try something else. Like not antagonizing your sorry team’s most talented players. Just a thought.