Could Collin Sexton fit with the Cavs?
University of Alabama point guard Collin Sexton should already have been on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ radar ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft. But just in case he wasn’t, he certainly is now.
The University of Alabama’s relentless true freshman Collin Sexton has put the NBA on early notice with his play, production and passion through five games. You want evidence? Look no further than Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Dwyane Wade’s tweet referencing Sexton’s 40-point performance against the University of Minnesota (ranked 14th in the country).
It was game in which Sexton put up stellar numbers in sensational, spectacular and, probably, never-before-seen fashion.
Considering the position that Sexton plays (point guard), Wade’s tweet regarding Sexton makes a simple, seemingly innocuous response a bit more interesting.
After the 2017-2018 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be faced with the offseason decision of whether or not to re-sign Isaiah Thomas to what he surely will hope to be a max contract.
If that scenario wasn’t to happen for any reason – be it underperformance from Thomas, uncertainty about his health or the unpredictable decisions of Dan Gilbert – it’s likely that Chris Paul, who would also want a max contract, would be their second target. However, outside of some type of trade with the Houston Rockets, one that probably could only occur on ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine, signing Paul is impossible given the Cavs’ cap situation.
So, rather than selecting a player like Real Madrid’s Luka Doncic, an 18-year-old European guard turning heads across the Atlantic with his savvy game or Duke University’s Marvin Bagley III, who has shown the makings of a franchise player, Sexton could be the fit as the best point guard in the class.
Despite average athleticism and a physical frame that, at 6-foot-2 and 184 pounds, could prevent him from being a versatile defender, Sexton has the tools that will allow him to fit perfectly on the Cavs.
Start with Sexton’s ability to push the ball upcourt and get to the rim, whether in the halfcourt or open court. Sexton’s scoring around the rim (and the pace at which he gets there) is the most important element of his game when analyzing his fit with the Cavs. The Cavs are a team that likes to push the pace, at it allows them to break down the defense for quick points and, should the defense converge to the lane to protect the rim, kick the ball out to a team of shooters.
Sexton utilizes pace, improvisational escape dribbles, as well as a nice in-and-out dribble to get to the rim consistently. Once he gets all the way to the tin, he can finish with either hand in traffic or, should the paint be too congested, pass the ball out to an open shooter.
Although it will draw the ire of Advanced Analytics Purists, Sexton also has nice touch on his midrange jumper. So in the pick-and-roll, Sexton won’t just be a threat to attack the rim or pull-up from behind-the-line, he’ll be a complete scorer on the offensive end. Speaking of his ability to shoot from long-distance, the kid’s nickname might as well be “Kodak Black” because he’s a sniper.
Range doesn’t matter to Sexton, whose shooting 47.8 percent from three-point range (4.6 attempts per game). Even if those numbers are unsustainable, Sexton has already proven he’s capable of being a threat to score from outside. The interesting thing about Sexton’s jumper is that, much like a player like Dwyane Wade, Sexton is a rhythm shooter who would rather pull-up off-the-dribble to knock down a shot from outside than be a standstill shooter.
The results are borne out in Sexton’s free-throw form and percentage (Sexton is making only 67.3 percent of his free-throws this season). On pull-up jumpers, Sexton’s shooting form isn’t just consistent but he’s able to elevate and use a kick-out from his foot to – more or less – guide the trajectory of the ball. As a standstill shooter, Sexton looks stiff and uncertain.
However, if there’s anything that a LeBron fan should know it’s that a player’s jumpers can improve over time so long as they’re willing to put in the work.
If you’ve the maniacal gleam in Sexton’s eyes during the heat of a basketball battle, passion and work ethic don’t seem to be an issue.
On the offensive end, Sexton is a player who can average 15 points per game his rookie season while playing a tertiary scoring role beside James and Kevin Love. As Sexton’s strength, confidence and experience grow, there’s no doubt that he’s capable of scoring 20+ points per game in the big league’s too.
For the record, while Sexton’s defensive potential is modest when compared to his ability to be a volume scorer, he’s still an alert, tenacious player on this end of the court and he’ll be able to hold his own against most NBA point guards. The only names that come to mind that will give Sexton problems from a physical standpoint are Russell Westbrook and John Wall and, quite frankly, those two players are capable of giving any opposing point guard a headache.
Sexton isn’t a player perceived to be in the running for the top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft but with season averages of 25.2 points, 4.4 assists (1.8 turnovers), 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, he’s certainly no slouch. Shooting 55.4 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent from three-point range is no small task either.
At 7-12, the Brookyln Nets currently have the 6th-worst record in the NBA and that Sexton is player who’ll likely fall right outside the top side with the national attention that Doncic, Bagley III, DeAndre Ayton, Mohamed Bamba and Michael Porter Jr. have gotten early in the season.
Lucky for Sexton, there is one advantage he has that other top prospects don’t. Sexton is being coached by a former NBA point guard and a former NBA head coach in Avery Johnson, so he’ll come to the big league’s with an understanding of how to read the court and make quick, smart decisions. While James is always going to be the team’s primary playmaker, having a secondary ball-handler who can consistently make plays for himself and others while also possessing a scoring mentality is exactly what he needs.
See: Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving.
One of those is a surefire Hall of Famer while the other is building up his resume but both are supremely talented players who have been supremely successful beside James. Sexton, who would undoubtedly love a Hall of Fame career, has the tools necessary to at least be “supremely successful” beside a player we might as well start calling “The Blueprint”.