Jan 21, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center J.J. Hickson (21) reacts against the Washington Wizards at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

J.J. Hickson has agreed to a 3 year, $15 million deal with the Denver Nuggets. It comes as no surprise that Hickson is departing Portland. Not only had it been stated early on that the Blazers wished to move on to a larger defensive center, but after acquiring Robinson, Lopez, Wright, and Watson, they had no cap space for him anyway.

I’m still a little sad to see him go. He wasn’t what we needed, but he tried his hardest to fit where we put him. With the Nuggets, he will get to play his natural position (power forward) alongside one of my favorite players, Kenneth Faried. I’m a Nuggets fan, myself, so it’s nice to see them sign Hickson after letting Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri leave, firing Coach of the Year George Carl, and failing to re-sign Andre Iguodala.

Suddenly the Nuggets aren’t looking as sickly. It is unclear who will get the starting role (Hickson or Faried) if indeed he gets to play the 4, but between Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, J.J. Hickson, and JaVale McGee, their only significant weak point is shooting guard (the hole Iguodala left); though Fournier has a lot of potential.

This move means that the Blazers will have to look elsewhere for rebounds, as Hickson topped the team with 10.4 per game; the only Blazer to average double digits. Here’s hoping Meyers Leonard has made improvements this summer, and Robin Lopez can change his play style, or the Blazers could be in trouble.

Farewell, J.J. Hickson. May you find a home in Denver. Though you weren’t in an ideal situation, you were Portland’s best waiver pickup in recent memory and you filled in at center valiantly. Best of luck. I’ll be watching.

[1] – J.J. Hickson averaged 12.7 points and 10.4 rebounds last season.

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