NBA Draft: Could Cavs have gone a different direction in 2018?
As the July 29 2021 NBA Draft draws closer, it’s time to look back at the beginning of the Cleveland Cavaliers rebuilding process. During the summer of 2018 the Cavs pretty much knew that LeBron James would be leaving the city, again. But this time the organization had a minor backup plan in place.
When trading Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017, the front office made sure that a lottery pick was involved with the deal. Thus the Celtics threw in a 2018 lottery pick they had previously received from the the Brooklyn Nets. The trade itself, was one of the worst front office moves in league history. If you need a refresher on that, just listen to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst losing his mind on Chris Lowe’s Podcast about the trade in 2017.
However, the deal still gave the Cavs a solid building block on their road to rebuilding. The pick, unfortunately only ended up being the eighth in the 2018 NBA Draft, where the Cavaliers took Collin Sexton, a skilled young guard out of Alabama. That said, could the Cavs have made a better choice than Sexton in the 2018 draft? Well let’s find out.
Sexton’s performance through three years with the Cavs
Sexton, who is undersized for an off-the-ball guard, has had a solid three-year career in the league. So far the 22-year old has averaged over 20 points per game in three years in Cleveland, also kicking in 3.4 assists, and three rebounds per game. He became an instant fan-favorite during his rookie year, but his relationship with the city, and his teammates, has seemingly gone a bit sour.
In May, Joe Vardon of The Athletic (subscription required) released an article talking about the Cavs situation; it was more so about Kevin Love, in fairness. Albeit in the report, Vardon claimed that Cavalier players were taunted by opponents about Sexton’s ball-hogging. In the report, it states that opposing players would often tell Cavs players, “you know he’s not going to pass you the ball.”
Also in May, Chad Porto from our sister site Factory of Sadness, wrote a piece about how Sexton’s style of play just isn’t really conducive to winning. In his article, Porto hit the nail on the head in his opening paragraph.
"“On paper, Collin Sexton is a dream come true. He’s a player who has an incredible scoring ability and can get to the basket whenever he wants. He’s the franchise player for the Cavs for years to come. On paper. The problem is that it’s simply not true. Sexton is not the player that many claim him to be, nor is he anywhere near the league’s top guards with regard to where he should be as a player three years into his career.”"
At this point, Sexton’s teammates could very well be frustrated with him, with this being three years in. In truth, Sexton is a high usage rate off-the-ball guard. Could he become a primary ball-handler? Yes, most likely, but that doesn’t fit in with the Cavs roster right now, as they also have Darius Garland.
He’s also a defensive liability, as he struggles mightily with perimeter defending. For most fans, you either love Collin Sexton or you hate him. There’s really no in-between. The situation with him has pretty much hit rock bottom, and the Cavaliers are rumored to be exploring trades involving him.
Cleveland general manager Koby Altman and the front office can’t go back in time and change the pick, but we can at least look at some of the other options that were available in 2018.