Casey Hippert helps Team Classic immediately after being traded last week

Jay Resto (3), the captain of Team Classic

Last Monday in the MetroWest Draft League, Team Classic fell 98-90 to Black Widows, and Fearless fell 103-84 to HIDIA. Both team captains (Jay Resto for Team Classic and Pat Luckett for Fearless) felt that a change was needed.

The captains agreed on a straight swap of big men, as Team Classic sent Michael Upson to Fearless in exchange for Casey Hippert. Both players have almost identical builds, as Upson is listed at 6’3”, 230 lbs, while Hippert is listed at 6’4”, 240 lbs.

Metrowest League Coordinator, Taylor Pettiford, provided some insight on Facebook, saying this will likely be a win-win for the two teams involved.

“The move seems mutually advantageous whereas Fearless could use more offensive firepower - which Upson can provide - while Hippert will be a fantastic, unselfish complement as either a backup to Zack Valliere or as his high-low partner,” he said.

The offensive firepower of Upson seems clear when you look at his career average of 21.5 points on 51% shooting from the field and 42% from deep. Hippert is playing in his first UH season, and so far he’s put up solid averages of 13/5/3 in three games.

The only way to accurately grade trades is to wait until the season is over and assess the play of both players and see where their teams finished at the end of the season. After one week, however, Team Classic has the significant advantage.

Hippert made his Team Classic debut last night, and he had an immediate impact in a 79-76 win over HIDIA. He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting and added four rebounds in 32 minutes of action.

Unfortunately for Fearless, Upson was not in attendance last night, so Luckett and the rest of his squad will have to wait a week to see what kind of impact their new big man can have. Fearless lost to Buckets Galore 88-81 in Upson’s absence, falling to 0-3 this season.

We’ll see where this trade leaves both teams at the end of the season, but after one week, it’s advantage Resto and Team Classic.