Collin Sexton trade a possibility for the Cleveland Cavaliers? It’s complicated – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Collin Sexton is polarizing.

On one hand, Sexton, who won’t turn 23 until January, is one of the league’s premier young scorers.

This past season, a year after being named a Rising Star, he averaged career-bests in points (24.3) and field goal percentage (47.5) while nudging his way into the All-Star conversation. Sexton also made promising strides as a secondary playmaker, averaging 4.4 assists and boosting that to 6.1 during Darius Garland’s late-season injury absence.

Despite silly chatter to the contrary, players with Sexton’s three-level scoring package aren’t easy to find. A list of guys 22 or younger to average more than 24 points while also boasting a true shooting percentage of at least 57 percent shows just 20 names throughout NBA history, including Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, and a cluster of other future Hall-of-Famers and past or current All-Stars. Pretty good company there.

Sexton’s unique burst allows him to blow by defenders and explode to the rim. His improved 3-point shot keeps the defense honest, no longer able to go under screens like early in his career.

The third-year guard is also a relentless worker and feisty competitor. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and other teammates have repeatedly called him a “great kid” — even if Sexton’s playing style can be frustrating at times.

During his rookie season, teammates chirped about whether he knew how to play, wondered why he was getting so many minutes and scoffed at the top-to-bottom organizational support. He’s had four different head coaches and 52 teammates. He’s changed positions to better accommodate Garland, learning to become an away-from-the-ball threat. Been unfairly criticized for things out of his control. Played with crummy teammates and dreadful court spacing. And, yet, through it all Sexton’s not only persevered but he’s progressed as a player, identified his flaws and corrected them each season — as the No. 1 scoring option with defenses focused on him.

A lesser guy would have broken. He’s the kind of player — and person — that’s worth betting on.

On the other hand, Sexton is an outlier.

He’s not a point guard. The Cavaliers front office made that admission a few years ago, using the fifth pick in 2019 on Garland, who members of the organization believe has blossomed into the most promising of the young core and is extension-eligible in 2022. Sexton, an undersized shooting guard, has clear defensive limitations that are even more exposed when paired in the backcourt with Garland — the two of them together limiting the team’s ceiling. At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Sexton lacks the size, strength and length to bother wings. Even though effort isn’t an issue, he still doesn’t have a great grasp on how to properly navigate screens, leading to breakdowns at the point of attack that often cause the remaining defenders to scramble.

If there are areas to nitpick on offense, it starts with his shot profile. Even the Cavs have stayed in his ear about taking less mid-range jumpers and more 3-pointers. According to Cleaning the Glass, he is in the bottom six percent of guards in 3-point rate. There’s also been plenty of judgment about his tunnel vision, over-dribbling, pick-and-roll reads and passing. His advanced numbers — PER (Player Efficiency Rating), VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), BPM (Box Plus-Minus), Win Shares — are unappealing, leading to plenty of questions about whether Sexton makes teams better. His release could be quicker. His handle could tighten. People around the league believe he would best fit on a stable, contending team. His game has been called “ugly.” He probably shouldn’t be the focal point of an offense.

All of that, combined with impending contract extension talks that are unlikely to align in value, has led to Sexton being “very available” this offseason. At this point, it seems to be more than the usual due diligence and market value exploration.

After years of assembling assets and building through the draft, the Cavs are almost at the point where it’s time to place a tangible, monetary value on Sexton, which could limit financial flexibility into the future. This is when mistakes threaten to cripple progress, cost jobs and have a lasting impact. Giving him a rookie-scale max that could reach $168 million over five years is dangerous. Wouldn’t it be easier to let someone else make that decision?

The Cavs still like Sexton and believe in him. Sources say they’ve put a hefty price tag on him, which could make a deal challenging, and The Athletic identified the New York Knicks as the “most aggressive” trade suitor on Tuesday. The New York Post confirmed Sexton as a player on the Knicks’ radar, even saying he would’ve been their draft pick three years ago had Cleveland not nabbed him one slot earlier.

Cleveland and New York have discussed possibilities, sources say, and it’s an obvious potential trade destination. The Knicks are one of many teams monitoring the situation.

A surprising playoff party crasher this past season, the Knicks ranked 22nd in offensive efficiency during the regular season — and those struggles became their undoing in the postseason, ranking second-last among 16 qualifiers. Sexton would give them a needed shot-creator, someone to take pressure off Most Improved Player Julius Randle, especially with guards Elfrid Payton, Derrick Rose, Frank Ntilikina and Alec Burks headed for free agency.

Sexton is a client of CAA, the agency that Knicks president Leon Rose ran until last season, and is also well-known by former Cavaliers executive Brock Aller, who was in Cleveland when decision-makers fell in love with Sexton following an eye-popping pre-draft workout.

But what kind of package could New York assemble?

The Cavs were smitten with RJ Barrett ahead of the 2019 draft. They even tried trading up a few spots, sources say. Barrett is reportedly not viewed as untouchable, considered a potential trade centerpiece if the Knicks go star hunting. Coming off a strong sophomore season in which the 21-year-old averaged 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while hitting 40.1% from 3-point range and started all 72 games, it’s hard to see the Knicks parting with him for Sexton — and then agreeing to give Sexton a massive contract.

Power forward Obi Toppin, a player Cleveland considered at No. 5 before choosing Isaac Okoro in the draft last November, doesn’t make much sense for a team that already has more than $40 million invested in Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love and could be adding Evan Mobley with the third pick in a few weeks. The Knicks do have a pair of 2021 first-rounders (Nos. 19 and 21), but those are sweeteners as opposed to headliners of a deal. So, who else? Reclamation project Knox? Even packaging all three together would give the Cavs essentially a trio of backups for Sexton.

Think about it more and the Knicks don’t make for the ideal trade partner. Unless Barrett is involved, sending Sexton to New York would be Cleveland making a lateral move — or perhaps taking a step backward.

In a vacuum, other potential landing spots — Miami, New Orleans, Indiana and the Los Angeles Lakers — have pitfalls as well. It’s not easy to find teams that need a player with Sexton’s skill set, have the trade assets and would be willing to pay him. Unless, of course, the Sexton deal grows into a bigger blockbuster, stacking him with any combination of Love’s bulky salary, a future draft pick, Taurean Prince’s expiring contract or highly coveted Larry Nance Jr. The Cavs, of course, would prefer to shed Love in a Sexton swap.

Would that type of package advance talks with the antsy Philadelphia 76ers for now-available Ben Simmons? How about tempting the New Orleans Pelicans into a discussion about Brandon Ingram, the All-Star-caliber wing at the top of Cleveland’s summer trade wish list? Both are more dream scenarios than reality.

If the Cavs can use Sexton as a trade chip to improve other areas of the roster and find a better-fitting piece that helps maximize Garland’s skill set while also hedging against a difficult financial decision, they will consider it.

But pulling the trigger is a different conversation. They don’t have to do anything — not trade Sexton nor sign him to a contract extension this summer. Technically, negotiations can linger into October, the day before the 2021-22 regular season begins. If there’s no agreement, Sexton becomes a restricted free agent in 2022 — a loaded, deep class that could lead to him being buried and failing to find the second contract he covets.

If it’s true that the league doesn’t value Sexton as much as Cleveland, if opposing executives have similar questions about Sexton’s archetype and value, then a big offer sheet isn’t looming, right? If he can’t be a franchise pillar for the Cavs and they shouldn’t treat — or pay — him as a such then why would someone else? In that sense, wouldn’t restricted free agency work in Cleveland’s favor?

Sure, the clock has started to tick. But it doesn’t expire until next offseason.

For now, Sexton is the team’s most productive — and reliable — player. He’s the leading scorer on a team that doesn’t have enough offensive punch. He’s also the best 2 guard on the roster, without any better options using the mid-level exception or in the draft if Jalen Green goes No. 2. That’s why any discussions about a Sixth Man role should be reserved for when the Cavs actually have someone good enough to take that starting gig away. It’s also why there’s no reason to make a hurried move out of desperation.

Maybe the Cavs find a deal they’d actually agree to, something that makes them better, something other than what equates to simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Maybe they don’t. There are logical arguments to exploring it. There’s also a strong case to keep him around.

Like everything else with Sexton, it’s complicated.