Everything you need to know about the trade for Spencer Hawes

There were rumors that Tyler Zeller could go to the Clippers. Rumors that Jarrett Jack could go to Sacramento, or Minnesota. Rumors that Luol Deng was probably going to go somewhere. And a bunch of other rumors that I pretty much stopped paying attention to at a certain point.

The trade deadline has now come and gone, and the Cavaliers did make a move. Earl Clark, Henry Sims, and two second round picks are going to Philadelphia. Spencer Hawes is coming to Cleveland.

Here's what you need to know about Hawes:

1.  He's very conservative, politically. (You don't actually need to know this, I guess.)

2.  His contract is expiring, so he's probably just a rental to help push the Cavaliers toward the playoffs this season. However, if it works out, he's only 25 so they could look at an extension this summer.

3.  At 7'1", Hawes is a big man who can shoot. He has been attempting just under four threes per game this season, and he knocks them down at a 40% clip. Can you say, FLOOR SPACING?!?!

And that is really the key to this move, I think. Kyrie and Dion like to drive to the basket, but it is hard for them to get there when the other team's bigs are clogging the lane. Hopefully, Hawes will be able to draw defenders out away from the hoop.

So I like the way he fits this team offensively, in theory. But there are also two big concerns that I have:

1.  The Cavaliers gave up a lot for a guy who is probably only going to play 27 games for them. I know the picks are only second rounders, but I find it hard to believe that the 76ers wouldn't have dumped him for just one of those pick. While second round picks may not have much value when used in the draft, they could have been used in a bigger, better deal later on. All Chris Grant jokes aside, the Cavaliers now have two fewer assets in their belt.

2.  What does this mean for Anthony Bennett?  Assuming that Varejao comes back healthy soon, Hawes/Thompson/Varejao/Zeller all warrant playing time. Is Bennett going to be moved out of the rotation again, just as he was starting to show some promise? Or is the small forward experiment going to make a return?

I think that just about covers all of my thoughts about this deal. I'm not opposed to it, but I'm not particularly excited about it.

I think I'm glad that the Cavaliers are mostly keeping the squad intact (although dumping Jarrett Jack's contract would have been nice). Let's see now if they can build on their six straight wins.