The deal
Cavaliers get: Forward Sam Dekker, draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis and cash considerations
Clippers get: Draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko
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Cleveland Cavaliers: B
As I noted when discussing Kevin Love's altered role this season, the Cavaliers' roster was conspicuously lacking in combo forwards after the departures of LeBron James and Jeff Green via free agency. Enter Dekker, who can defend both forward spots but has generally been more effective as a 4 during his NBA career because of his limited outside shooting.
Whether Dekker can develop into a positive contributor will depend largely on his evolution as a 3-point shooter. During 2016-17, when Dekker made a credible 32 percent of his 3s, he averaged 18-plus minutes per game for the Houston Rockets and rated solidly better than replacement level. After being dealt to the Clippers as part of the Chris Paul trade, Dekker slipped to 17 percent over a 60-shot sample and saw both his playing time and his value decline as a result.
Dekker just turned 24, so there's still time for him to improve as a shooter, though his free throw percentage (60 percent career) isn't terribly encouraging. For Cleveland, this is a low-cost rental. Dekker will be a restricted free agent at season's end, so the Cavaliers will have a year to evaluate his fit and performance before making any decision on his long-term future.
Basically, Cleveland chose Dekker -- with cash to offset his salary -- over filling the roster spot in free agency. They were able to take him in using the Kyrie Irving trade exception, which will expire later this month and had little other use. Maybe the Cavaliers could have gotten modest draft compensation out of the Clippers for helping their roster crunch, but Dekker was better than anyone Cleveland could have signed at this point of the summer.
LA Clippers: A
For the Clippers, the logic here was simple. Dekker was one of the odd players out after they signed 16 players to guaranteed contracts, in addition to Patrick Beverley, who is certain to be on the roster despite his non-guaranteed salary.
The Clippers simply could have waived Dekker, of course, but trading him not only potentially saves some money but also offers breathing room with regard to the luxury tax. Previously, the Clippers were within $1.5 million of the tax. Now, they've got more than $4 million in buffer, offering more freedom when it comes to making in-season trades. They'll also create a trade exception for Dekker's salary, for what that's worth, though it's unlikely the Clippers will use it given their full roster and desire to create cap space next summer.