JJ Hickson Not Happy in Sacramento; Misses Cleveland

JJ Hickson was traded from the Cavs to the Kings last season, and things aren’t exactly working out for him in Sac-Town. He tells the Plain Dealer that he wouldn’t mind returning to Cleveland next year: “The former Cavalier forward was at The Q with his new team and sounded like a player who would rather be almost anywhere except Sacramento. Even Anaheim. Hickson is struggling to adjust to a new team and a return to his natural position of power forward. He is averaging 5.2 points and less than 20 minutes a game all the while costing himself significant money in a contract year. ‘I’m not having the year I wanted to have, not just personally but we’re not winning,’ said Hickson, an unrestricted free agent as season’s end. ‘But after going through the season [the Cavs] went through last year, I didn’t want to come to a situation like this. I wanted to rebuild here, but I got traded and things happen.’ The Cavaliers shipped Hickson to the Kings for Omri Casspi and a much-protected, first-round draft choice on June 30, 2011. They no longer needed to worry about whether to commit long-term to Hickson, who averaged 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds last season, but irritated coaches with his mental lapses and inconsistency. Hickson said he was surprised by the trade, even though the Cavaliers selected power forward Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick a week earlier. [...] At the Kings’ media day in December, Hickson asked whether rumors about the team moving to Anaheim were true. He was heard to say, ‘I really like Anaheim.’ Hickson was asked if he could make it work with the Kings’ organization. After a pregnant pause, he responded: ‘Uh, yeah. I think so, yeah.’ [...] Would Hickson want to return to the Cavs next season? ‘Of course, why not?’ he said. ‘I’m not saying ‘no, I don’t want to come back.’ If the opportunity presented itself, why not?’”