Former Wisconsin star Sam Dekker traded to Washington Wizards

Just when we thought a former Badger would return to his home-state NBA team, the tables turned to another Eastern Conference organization as his next destination.

The Washington Wizards acquired former Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday as part of a three-team deal involving the Cavs and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Initially, reports surfaced that Dekker would return home to Wisconsin. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on late Friday afternoon that the Bucks would acquire guard George Hill and Dekker from Cleveland in exchange for guard Matthew Dellavedova, forward John Henson, and 2021 first and second-round picks.

Over an hour after the initial report, Wojnarowski reported that Washington would also join the trade and Dekker would now head to the nation’s capital.

The Wizards are the fourth NBA franchise Dekker has played for since being drafted as the 18th pick in the first round by the Houston Rockets in the 2015 NBA Draft. He played in Houston for two seasons, though he only participated in three games his rookie season due to injury.

The Rockets traded Dekker to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Chris Paul trade in June 2017, then he was shipped to the Cavaliers on Aug. 5 of this year.

Averaging 18.8 minutes per game this season for Cleveland, Dekker recorded 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He has played in 162 career games in the NBA, nine with the Cavs this season (including five starts).

In three seasons and 113 collegiate games at Wisconsin, Dekker averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. His junior campaign during the second of UW’s back-to-back Final Four runs was the most productive as he recorded 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.

During that 2014–15 season, Dekker claimed the 2015 NCAA West Region’s Most Outstanding Player. He was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection twice.