The activity of the last few weeks, from the NBA Draft to free agency to Summer League, have quieted some of the flurry of rumors that were swirling before the draft. One of those rumors was that the Cleveland Cavaliers were shopping around Collin Sexton. Are the Cavs still open to trading their young shooting guard?
The answer almost certainly has to be yes. They were fielding trade calls even when it was clear they would be drafting Evan Mobley and not Jalen Green with the No. 3 pick. The organization is not completely comfortable paying a contract at or near the max for a 6’1″ shooting guard, even if he scores like Sexton does. The team might be able to negotiate a lower contract number, but if they can’t then a trade becomes more of a possibility.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are likely still open to trading Collin Sexton. What teams still make sense to trade the Cavs for their young shooting guard?
It takes two to tango, and the same is true for trades, although the tango probably doesn’t work right when expanded to include five partners. For the Cavs to make a move that makes sense involving Sexton, they will need to find a trade partner who wants Sexton and can send back reasonable value for him.
Sexton is a prolific scorer and hard worker, and he is owed just $6.35 million next season, making it relatively easy for most teams to find matching salary. For this exercise we will try to narrow down that list to those teams that might actually want to make the move. Let’s look at three teams who would make sense as trade destinations for Collin Sexton, starting in the Lonestar State.
3 best trade destinations for Collin Sexton: Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks have lost in the first round in consecutive postseasons, with herculean efforts from Luka Doncic not supported by the rest of the team. While Dallas may have attempted to make larger moves to overturn the roster, the reality is that this roster looks much the same as it did two years ago.
Would bringing in Collin Sexton be the right kind of move for the Mavs? They need a player who can create his own shot with Doncic holding his hand; only Tim Hardaway Jr. on this team fits that mold, and Sexton is probably a better pure scorer than Hardaway. He is also younger, much more on Doncic’ timetable, and his size isn’t as much of an impediment if he’s the smallest player on the court in the backcourt with Doncic.
What could a trade package look like? One option would be for the Mavericks to wait until closer to the trade deadline when they could move the recently-signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and send the wing with another asset or two (a future draft pick, or recent draft pick Josh Green) to the Cavaliers for Sexton and Ricky Rubio.
A larger deal that could happen now is to send Kristaps Porzingis to the Cavaliers for Kevin Love and Collin Sexton. This would allow the Cavs to move Love’s immovable contract, and they would get back a player who could theoretically regain his impact status. They could bring Evan Mobley off the bench to start his career with a nasty three-big rotation, and look to move either Porzingis or Jarrett Allen down the line.
Is such a trade arrangement likely? No, but almost any hypothetical trade falls in the unlikely bucket. This is a pairing that could make sense for both sides, but given the strong emotions attached to players such as Sexton and Porzingis it certainly feels like a long-shot.
3 best trade destinations for Collin Sexton: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder look like a team that is all-out tanking. They continue to flip veterans for future draft picks, using their cap sheet as a dumping ground for everyone’s bad contracts. All of the draft capital they are picking up is added to the haul they got from moving Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
That gives the Thunder the ammunition to go out and get any player that they like, and there are reasons to think they might like Collin Sexton. The Thunder just inked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, taken in the same draft as Sexton, to a maximum rookie contract extension. Given how good Gilgeous-Alexander is, it will be difficult for the Thunder to completely bottom out this season. The only reason they got as low in the standings as they did last year was “SGA” missing time with a foot injury.
Instead of tanking, the Thunder could start their rebound by trading for a player who averaged 24.3 points per game last season. SGA’s size at the point guard position would allow them to play Sexton alongside him without creating a defensive disaster as happens when Sexton and Darius Garland play together in Cleveland. With No. 6 pick Josh Giddey as a high-level passer on the wing, the Thunder would have an extremely talented collection of ball-handlers moving forward.
The Thunder don’t have much matching salary that the Cavs would be interested in, but a return for Sexton would be about the draft capital anyway. The Thunder have plenty of future picks they can send to Cleveland depending on what the Cavs asked for. They could send Derrick Favors as a backup center as matching salary, or a younger player such as Darius Bazley. They would also take Sexton into one of their trade exceptions and not send back a player at all.
Most likely the Thunder will continue to be patient in their rebuild, but if they do want to take a step now Sexton represents a semi-available player who would fit what they are building in Oklahoma City.
3 best trade destinations for Collin Sexton: Philadelphia 76ers
One of the most popular trade partners with the Cleveland Cavaliers all offseason have been the Philadelphia 76ers, in large part because of their shopping of star guard/wing/something Ben Simmons. The 6’10” ball-handler is perhaps the most available player in the league, if a trade partner brings enough to make 76ers’ President Daryl Morey blink.
The only scenario where a top-tier free agent is choosing to sign in Cleveland is if that free agent happened to grow up there. The Cavs’ paths to a star involve the draft and trades, and with Ben Simmons under contract for another four seasons he would lock in a star for a while, even if said star has some obvious warts.
The 76ers could use some shot creation and shooting, and Sexton would give them both in bunches. The Cavaliers could also include Larry Nance Jr. to give the 76ers a defensive swiss army knife to deploy alongside Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, or to even play as a small-ball center when Embiid is on the bench.
Many of the Cavs’ fans will likely blanch at the prospect of adding the shooting-challenged Simmons, but his defensive ability and overall impact are much higher than his reputation suggests. He and Evan Mobley would be a devastating combination in the frontcourt, and while Cleveland would likely need to trade Jarrett Allen down the line, they are going to have to do that anyway if Mobley is to reach his potential.
The 76ers are asking for trade packages significantly more lucrative than Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr. and matching salary. Teams aren’t biting, though, and eventually Philadelphia will lower its demands. If there isn’t a stronger bid out there, the Cavaliers could end up making a wild trade that would change the entire positioning of their roster.
Any deal involving a beloved part of this Cavaliers rebuild will be hard for the organization and for fans, but if the team isn’t committed to paying Sexton close to a max contract they will have to move him or risk getting caught in restricted free agency matching such a deal. Dallas, Oklahoma City and Philadelphia are all unlikely destinations, but they offer intriguing return packages and make more sense than most as places for Sexton to land.