In an effort to add depth to their front line as they chase a playoff spot, the Cleveland Cavaliers have traded for Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes, the team announced Thursday.
The 76ers have been trading for draft picks and prospects since last summer as part of a long-term rebuilding project, and this deal fits that mold. The Cavs sent the 76ers two second-round draft picks and backup forward Earl Clark, while Cleveland shipped backup center Henry Sims to Philadelphia to complete the deal.
Hawes, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6.6 million this season, averaged 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in 53 starts for the 76ers this season. The Cavs, who are three games out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after a six-game win streak, had been in talks to get another center for several days.
Anderson Varejao has been out with a back injury and received a cortisone shot Wednesday to help deal with the issue. Clark, whose $4.25 million contract next season is not guaranteed, averaged 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 45 games and shot 38 percent from the field for the Cleveland, which signed him as a free agent in the offseason.
In January, the Cavs dealt a first-round pick and two second-rounders to acquire forward Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls. The team is spending many of the extra picks it acquired over the past three years to attempt to upgrade and end a three-year playoff drought.
Sims, whose $915,000 contract for next season is also non-guaranteed, has averaged just 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 20 games this season.
