The Cleveland Cavaliers have some big decisions to make. Every NBA team has them, from the mundane to the breaking-news variety. Teams have to scout prospects, woo agents, canvas teams for trades and negotiate contracts and extensions with free agents and their own players.
For the Cavs, the key decision this summer will be what to do with Collin Sexton. The former Alabama guard, who won’t turn 24 until next year, averaged 16 points per game (which led the Cavs to start the year) before a knee injury knocked him out after just 11 games. Supporters of Sexton will go back a year to 2020-21, when Sexton was the offensive centerpoint and dropped 24.3 points per game, good for 18th in the NBA.
The Cavs and Collin Sexton have an important negotiation to pick up this summer. What can other young guards teach us about Sexton’s next contract?
Sexton will be a restricted free agent this summer, which means the Cavs will have the right to match any deal Sexton signs. Both sides have communicated to this point that they want to get something done, but the realities of this Cavs roster speak plainly to how difficult it will be. Darius Garland has replaced Sexton as the lead guard and primary scoring option, while the team traded multiple strong draft picks to the Indiana Pacers for wing Caris LeVert at the NBA Trade Deadline.
Will the Cavs sign Sexton to a lucrative contract because of the big year two seasons ago? Will they lowball Sexton, paying him according to his perceived role, and see him walk away? These are tough questions that are hard to answer without inside knowledge.
Is there any precedent for the Cavs and their negotiations with Sexton? Thankfully, yes there is, as other talented guards have been on teams with another dominant lead ball-handler and have had to sort out what that means for everyone involved. Which three players, all with differing outcomes, could teach us all about Collin Sexton’s next contract?