Sam Dekker during a Houston Rockets game versus the Washington Wizards in 2016. Date 7 November 2016, (Wikipedia Commons. Author: Keith Allison)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are close to completing a deal to acquire Los Angeles Clippers forward Sam Dekker via trade, it was announced on Sunday.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said the Clippers agreed to the deal in order to clear a roster spot, while 24-year-old Dekker is hoping to earn more playing time. Dekker, a Wisconsin standout, joined the NBA in 2015 when the Houston Rockets selected him as a first-round pick (No. 18).
The Clippers landed Dekker in June 2017 in a trade that sent Chris Paul to the Rockets. Last season, Dekker averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12 minutes per game, per ESPN. The young forward is still reportedly owed $2.8 million on his contract with the Clippers, who currently have 15 guaranteed roster spots to fill before next season begins. Point guard Patrick Beverley remains on a non-guaranteed deal with the team, who will need to trade or waive another player in order to keep Beverley.
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Last month, Dekker —who played on the gold-medal-winning under-18 U.S. men’s national team that beat Brazil at the FIBA Americas Championship in 2012 — married Olivia Harlan, an SEC Network and ESPN reporter who is the daughter of NBA on TNT play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan.
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Meanwhile, the Cavaliers waived forward Okaro White on Monday. White did not play in any regular-season games with the Cavs but participated in every contest for Cleveland in this year’s NBA Summer League. He averaged six points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
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