Ferry said earlier in the week that many of the prospects in this draft would have an 18-month window to evolve into a rotational player. Hickson is 19 years old and played just one season at North Carolina State.

"In some ways, he's kind of an uncarved block," Ferry said.

Because of the age of the Cavs' stable of big men -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace are 33 years old and Joe Smith is 32 -- they felt a young player needed to be added. Anderson Varejao is on the trading block and can opt out of his contract after this season.

"Considering the age of our group (of big men), bringing in a young player was important," Ferry said.

The 6-foot-9, 242-pounder averaged 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He shot 59.1 percent from the field.

He was coached by former Cavs assistant coach Sidney Lowe with the Wolfpack.

"J.J. was a guy we had highly rated all year," Ferry said. "He's a hard worker. He's a guy who gets up at 6 a.m. He's very dedicated to be the best he can be. He's a quality kid. He has a great background."

Hickson compared himself to Boston's Kevin Garnett and Golden State's Al Harrington. Hickson, 19, said he's looking forward to playing with LeBron James.

"It will be a good learning experience," he said. "I'm going to be a sponge and soak it up. He's the best athlete in the league right now."

He was a McDonald's All-American after his high school career in Marietta, Ga. Hickson earned Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team honors this season.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: James became the first player in franchise history to lead the league in scoring. He was also the first player ever to lead the league in scoring and average exactly 30 points a game. Along the way, he also overtook former center Brad Daugherty to become the Cavs' all-time leading scorer.

TURNING POINT: Just seconds before the trade deadline was to expire on Feb. 21, the Cavs pulled off the biggest trade in franchise history. They sent six players to Chicago and Seattle and acquired Ben Wallace and Joe Smith from the Bulls and Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak from the SuperSonics. It was a major undertaking trying to get the four players -- three of whom became starters -- acclimated to the Cavs. They took on more salary and will pay more luxury tax. By losing in the second round of the playoffs, they did not meet their goal.