Cleveland Cavaliers: George Hill ended Cavs’ tenure as ‘pro’s pro’

The Cleveland Cavaliers recently traded George Hill to the Milwaukee Bucks, and in his last days with the Cavs, Hill displayed why he’s truly one of the good guys in the NBA.

George Hill was recently traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers (per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst) and although I’m 100 percent a fan of trading Hill and enabling Collin Sexton to get more playing time as a primary playmaker, it was refreshing to see how the veteran handled his last days in Cleveland. Granted, I would think Hill would be thrilled to be dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks, a potential Eastern Conference NBA Finals representative, but even so, Hill was anything but bitter and expressed his gratitude for the organization and the Cavs’ loyal fan base.

Hill recently apologized for missing a late free throw in the 2018 NBA Finals Game 1, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon (subscription required) and that gives a glimpse of how Hill is as a consummate professional and model teammate.

Hill was a solid point guard for the Cavaliers with the Wine and Gold, as he had 9.9 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. This season, he was a good mentor for Sexton, who has really taken off a member of the starting unit. Sexton highlighted Hill was a great locker room guy, and helped the rookie prepare for each game, which is clearly aiding Sexton, who is progressing rapidly as a young point guard, per Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were right in trading Hill, who was a veteran player that had a very attractive contract (as he has just $1 million guaranteed for next season and is expiring after next year, per Spotrac) for contending teams like the Bucks. Nonetheless, in his time this season (even post-LeBron James departure) Hill embraced helping the rookie become a professional, and that was great to see.

While Hill wasn’t an All-Star for the Cavs, he was a “pro’s pro,” and gestures like this (via Alan Mowrey of the Cleveland Cavaliers Operating Company) say a ton about his character, and I wish Hill luck in Milwaukee.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a really promising young player in Sexton, and I’m glad he’ll be getting more minutes with Hill being traded.

That being said, Hill’s professionalism, generosity and team-first attitude shouldn’t go unnoticed.