3 reasons the Cavs offered Collin Sexton a small contract

3 reasons Cavs offered Collin Sexton a small deal: Cavs see him as a bench player

Darius Garland is the same size as Collin Sexton at 6’1″ and is a much better fit at the point guard position. His passing has taken a major step forward and his knockdown shooting makes him a potent threat. Playing him at the 1 limits the negative impact of his defensive limitations.

Playing Sexton at the 2 alongside Garland would exacerbate those defensive issues, as Sexton has not proven to be any better of a defender. Those issues could possibly be counterbalanced by the offensive force of the two together, but thus far Sexton has been something of a floor-raiser who hasn’t elevated his team towards winning. He plays hard, but his offensive impact hasn’t been proven outside of his own scoring.

Cleveland instead appears to view Sexton as a much better fit coming off of the bench. They traded for Caris LeVert and drafted Ochai Agbaji as presumably their long-term starters on the wing, and if they re-sign Sexton would bring him off the bench as a Sixth Man, a one-two punch with Kevin Love, and insulated defensively by playing alongside either Ricky Rubio or Raul Neto. If he’s a bench player, the Cavs’ price point for him will be much lower.

Will it change? No, certainly not this summer without Sexton proving something with his play on the court. He needs to prove, somehow and somewhere, that he can help a team win and not simply get his own – that’s not a knock on his selfishness, but the reality of what his game has produced so far.