4 burning questions for the Cavs ahead of free agency

4 burning questions for Cavs in free agency: What happens with Sexton?

Collin Sexton was the first piece of this Cleveland rebuild. He has never done anything short of playing hard, giving 100 percent effort on the court. His competitive fire is both impressive and infectious, and he is beloved by his teammates. By all accounts he seems to genuinely want to stay in Cleveland.

He is also a really tough fit in the starting lineup alongside Darius Garland, and both the results, the advanced metrics and the reality is that the team is better off building around Garland. Where does that leave Sexton? The Cavs want to pay him as a good bench player; Sexton, who was Top-20 in the league in scoring just two seasons ago, wants to be paid like a star, or at least a plus-starter. What gives?

A week ago, the guess would have been that Sexton was gone. He seemed to have a fair amount of interest around the league, including from a few teams with cap space. Then the NBA Draft happened, which for multiple reasons made it less likely that Sexton was back. His suitors have gone in other directions, which could put the squeeze on Sexton in contract discussions.

Perhaps the Detroit Pistons or San Antonio Spurs still sign him to an offer sheet around $20 million per season, but it seems much more like the Cavs will get him at a lower number. Perhaps that is a four-year, $70 million deal that would pay him $17.5 million per season. Could it be as low as four-for-$60?

Given that the Cavs have been comfortable paying their own players, this seems like it will end with Sexton getting more than many think he is worth, but less than he wants, which is often the endpoint of many restricted free agent situations.