In an unsuspected deal, former University of Wisconsin men’s basketball player Sam Dekker was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday.
As part of the trade deal, all-star point guard Chris Paul was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Houston Rockets.
https://twitter.com/dekker/status/880092837248946178
Dekker, a Sheboygan Wisconsin native, was initially drafted by the Houston Rockets with the number eighteen pick in the 2015 draft following an illustrious three-year career with the Badgers. During his three years, Dekker made the All-Big Ten freshmen team as well as the All-Big Ten second and third teams in his sophomore and junior seasons, respectfully.
Along with making the All-Big Ten teams, Dekker made back-to-back Finals Fours and was an integral part of Wisconsin’s run to the 2015 national championship that included a win over a previously undefeated Kentucky team that included future NBA all stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker.
Unfortunately, Dekker’s first season in Houston was riddled by injuries, and he only appeared in three games total. In his second season, Dekker began to breakout as he played in 77 games and averaged more than six points a game for a Rockets team that finished third in the incredibly competitive western conference.
With the move to LA, Dekker will be taking his talents to the west coast to play for a perennial contender in LA who just traded away the face of their franchise. What exactly the roster around Dekker will look like is largely unknown with the free agency period yet to begin.
That being said, it will interesting to watch how this move affects Dekker’s development and if he can continue to build off his positive second season in the league.
Dekker, now going into his 3rd season, will have expectations to be a major contributor on the new look Clippers and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts.
