Cavs: Trade with GSW may be best route regarding Collin Sexton

The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be at a crossroads in their rebuild right now. Jarrett Allen is a player the Cavs can build around. He’s a good rim protector and his offensive game shows promise. But, it may cost the Cavs $100 million or more to retain the big man from Texas, per prior reports. On top of that, guard Collin Sexton/his camp is seemingly hoping to sign a max contract extension this summer.

It’s likely he will be seeking a deal that is comparable to the one Donovan Mitchell signed last offseason, based on the representation element. And simply put, Sexton is not worth that amount of money, right now. In all reality, the Cavs are still in the early stages of their rebuild. Therefore, it’s a hard to imagine the Cavs signing Allen and Sexton.

It looks like the Cavaliers have made their decision, and are set to re-sign Jarrett Allen. Cavs general manager Koby Altman has made it clear, Collin Sexton is reportedly “very available.” However, finding a deal that would help the Cavs in the long term, is tough to come by at the moment. That was, until Sunday. Evan Dammarell of WKYC and Fear The Sword reported that the Golden State Warriors were “intrigued with trading for Sexton.”

In all reality, the Warriors might have the best offer for the Cavs.

The Warriors own the 7th and 14th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. On top of that, they also have the second overall draft pick from last year on their roster. James Wiseman was a real question mark for the Warriors this season. He only played in 39 games and only averaged 11.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. So, for this article’s sake, let’s put him to the side for now, and Dammarell did follow that up by stating the #7 and a player such as Wiseman aren’t on the table, nor Andrew Wiggins.

Even so, let’s focus in on those two lottery picks. It remains clear the Warriors could want to flip picks 7 and 14 for a solid starter to lengthen their championship window. If the Warriors are indeed looking for a solid starter, Collin Sexton certainly fits the bill. The 22-year old just had his best season in the NBA, averaging over 24 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 39% from three.

It would be interesting to see how the Warriors would handle Sexton in the future, if they get their hands on him, but that shouldn’t matter to the Cavs. Plain and simple, if the Warriors were willing to trade pick seven, or both seven and 14, it’s the Cavaliers’ best option at this point.

To reiterate, it’s not likely both would be on the table, but it’d appear that either might be Cleveland’s best option, and even perhaps with the 14th and a minor piece, such as Jordan Poole I’d assume.

Any way you spin it, the Cavs aren’t near contending right now.

After playing in the NBA Finals  four straight years from 2015-2018, it hasn’t been easy to accept just the sheer amount of losses the Cavs have piled up since LeBron James went to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, this may be an opportunity to breathe new life into the organization.

The Cavaliers should be looking to just acquire more talent by any means necessary. If Koby Altman could pull off a trade that led to the Cavs landing another lottery pick (14), then this rebuild may be fast-tracked a bit. There are a lot of different directions the Cavs could go if they acquired the 14th pick. In theory, they could package the third and 14th pick for the first overall pick from the Detroit Pistons, to go with a future first/two of them, as Dammarell suggested.

I’m not sold that the Pistons are looking at moving out of the first pick, but if they really are, then the Cavs would likely have one of the better offers out there. And landing Cade Cunningham would be incredible for this team moving forward.

With Cunningham, the roster as it is perhaps, minus Sexton, would just fill in around the former Cowboy. A starting lineup of Darius Garland, Cunningham, Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love and Jarrett Allen would give the Cavs a lot of promise for the future, while also being able to somewhat contend in the present time. I mean just look at what happened this past year. LaMelo Ball took a lowly Charlotte Hornets team to the brink of the playoffs.

On the other hand, the Cavs could held onto pick 14. It’s likely that the third pick would be Evan Mobley, who I have said often, I’m not a huge fan of. Even so, the idea of having another pick only a couple minutes later, makes Mobley more attractive. There would be a lot of options on the table for the Cavs at 14.

One option could be Moses Moody, who I love, and compares favorably to Mikal Bridges. Josh Giddey, a gifted playmaker, and Corey Kispert, a knockdown shooter, are also intriguing names that would make the Cavs more dynamic on the offensive end of the floor.

In the past week or so, there have been rumors about what the Cavs might get in return for Sexton. The Knicks are reportedly willing to part with Obi Toppin, Kevin Knox, and the 19th or 21st pick. That’s a ridiculous offer. The Cavs passed over Toppin last year for a reason. Other than that, there has just been speculation.

But, any way you slice it, none of the offers right now would be worth it. If it comes down to July 29 and the Cavs only have this offer on the table, they would be wise to pull the trigger.

I strongly dislike Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr and the Warriors, as I’m sure many other Clevelanders do. The Cavs are in the very early stages of a rebuild, though, and they can’t afford to pass up on an offer that includes another lottery pick. No one ever said making a deal with the devil was easy.