Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 reasons now is the time to trade Collin Sexton

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3 reasons now is the time to trade Collin Sexton: Frees up playing time for young guards

Last season Collin Sexton played 35.3 minutes per game, which ranked 10th in the entire league. He took 18.4 field goals per game, with a usage rate (percentage of his team’s plays that Sexton used while on the court) was 29.7 percent, in the top-20 leaguewide.

In other words, Sexton took up a lot of space in the Cavaliers’ rotation, both playing time and touches. That’s not a bad thing; the players ahead of him in both numbers tended to be All-Stars or key starters. A natural consequence, however, is that other players on the team by necessity have fewer opportunities to see the court.

The Cavaliers could go into next season with a handful of young players they need to find time for at the 2. Isaac Okoro played a lot of 3 last year but at 6’5″ he is probably a long-term shooting guard; entering his second season the Cavaliers need to see whether he can be a wing-stopper for them and a long-term starter.

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Dylan Windler has the skillset of a player who could really help the Cavaliers with his shooting and passing. If he is healthy enough to play, the team needs to find minutes for him and find out what they have.

Finally, there is a very good chance the Cavaliers come away from the 2021 NBA Draft with a backcourt player. Jalen Green is a high-upside 2-guard who might fall to them at 3, while Jalen Suggs is a confident combo guard who has enough size to pair with Garland in the backcourt. Choosing either of those players and trying to squeeze them into the rotation around Sexton would be difficult.

Going into next season with Sexton still dominating the ball will cost them crucial development time downstream on the roster. Limit Sexton’s minutes or touches to develop those players, and his trade value likely goes down. If Sexton was a long-term building block then it would be worth fitting everyone else around him, but he can’t be. Moving on from him now will ensure space to grow what they have.