The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in the midst of contract negotiations with restricted free agent Collin Sexton, the fourth-year shooting guard they originally drafted eighth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Alabama. While some restricted free agents re-sign quickly, many end up in long negotiations where the player tries to find a way to get more money than they are offered.
The current offer on the table for Sexton was recently reported on by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, and it certainly wasn’t what the young guard hopes to be making over the next few years: a three-year, $40 million deal. Given that Sexton was asking for $100 million back in October, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have offered Collin Sexton $13.33 million per season. What can the Cavs guard learn from other NBA players making that much?
That offer can’t be compared to what Sexton thought he was worth a year ago, however. Instead, it has to be compared to the rest of the market. If no one will pay Collin Sexton more than $13.33 million per year, is he worth more than that?
To get some grounding, let’s look around the league. Which players are making the same amount of money as Sexton was just offered? How do his play and situation compare to those of his peers currently making $13 million or so? Using Spotrac.com for the average annual value of player contracts, who make as much as Sexton would if he signed this offer? Let’s start with a former Cavaliers guard who fits Sexton’s play type and potential role fairly well.
What players make as much as Sexton was offered by Cavs? Jordan Clarkson
In the 2017-18 NBA season, a Cleveland Cavaliers team trying desperately to put a contender together on the fly in the final year of LeBron James’ second term made a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. That trade brought a combo guard named Jordan Clarkson to Cleveland, and he spent about two years and 138 games with the Cavs before he was traded to the Utah Jazz.
Clarkson averaged 15.6 points per game his first year with the Jazz and 16.7 in the postseason as a bench scorer, and the Jazz thought enough of his work in that role that they signed him to a new deal the following offseason: a four-year, $51.52 million deal that comes out to an average annual value of $12.88 million, just a hair under the money offered to Sexton.
After starting every single game as a second-year player, Clarkson began to shift to a bench role and has been exclusively playing as a “Sixth Man” in both Cleveland and Utah, where he has started only four of 327 games. That hasn’t stopped him from making an impact, as he has averaged at least 15 points per game over the past four seasons.
The parallels between Clarkson and Sexton aren’t perfect, as Clarkson is three inches taller with a bit more defensive impact. That being said, his role in the NBA is as a bench scorer, and that earned him just under $13 million per year. If that’s what the Cavs think of Sexton, the deal seems reasonable. One could point to Sexton’s age (23, when Clarkson was 27 when he signed his deal) but that is balanced out by the fact that Clarkson was an unrestricted free agent when he signed his deal.
What players make as much as Sexton was offered by Cavs? Daniel Gafford
If we are looking for the player in the NBA whose salary and contract most closely match that of the offer to Sexton, then we would land on Washington Wizards center Daniel Gafford. The former Arkansas big man was the 38th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and played his rookie year and part of his second with the Chicago Bulls before they shipped him off to the Wizards during the Nikola Vucevic trade deadline.
Gafford blossomed in his role with the Wizards and was especially impactful and efficient during their brief playoff run. That strong play earned him a three-year contract extension, worth $40.18 million, or an average of $13.39 million. His deal is nearly spot-on for the contract offered to Sexton.
The Wizards started Gafford for the first half of the year before they acquired Kristaps Porzingis, at which point Gafford slid to the bench and started only when Porzingis is out. The contract the Wizards gave him likely had this in mind, a mid-tier deal for a player who could start but wasn’t overpaid to come off of the bench if that was needed.
That’s likely what the Cavs are thinking with Sexton as well. He is talented enough to start in the right situation, but not with the realities of the Cavs’ roster. $13 million is a doable number for the Cavs to pay a bench player, so that’s what they offered.
What players make as much as Sexton was offered by Cavs? Kyle Kuzma
If we are looking for the player whose situation best fits with Collin Sexton’s current predicament, Kyle Kuzma may be the best one to point to. Kuzma was a first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, coming into the league a season before Sexton. He played well as both a bench player and as a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, scaling up to a larger role on lottery teams and down to smaller roles on successful teams.
When it was time to negotiate a new deal, Kuzma was on uncertain ground. Despite winning the title with the Lakers in 2020 he was bandied about nearly constantly in trade conversations. It was clear that the Lakers did not see him as a long-term piece, in large part because of fit issues: LeBron James was a power forward, Anthony Davis wanted to play power forward, and it left Kuzma the odd man out.
The compromise that was struck was a three-year, $39 million contract – that is, nearly exactly what the Cavaliers offered to Sexton. Kuzma had proven he could be a rotation player on a really good team, but questions about his efficiency in a larger role depressed his value. Sexton has proved the opposite side of that coin, being decently efficient in a larger role but not yet proving his ability to scale into a smaller role on a great team.
Kuzma had a really solid year last season as a starter with the Wizards, and if he was hitting free agency this season would likely have commanded a higher salary. Unfortunately, he signed his extension coming off a season where he started just nine games and averaged 25 minutes per game. Timing matters, and Sexton is likewise being squeezed by the timing of his free agency as well.
What players make as much as Sexton was offered by Cavs?
There are a number of other players across the league that make about as much as Collin Sexton was offered. Patrick Beverley is the polar opposite of Sexton in strengths and weaknesses, an offensive role player who is a defensive menace; Sexton can score in buckets but his off-ball game and defense are quite suspect. Beverley is playing out a one-year, $13 million contract extension.
Terrence Ross and Gary Harris, both of the Orlando Magic, are shooting guards making about $13 million (Ross averages $13.5) that are generally thought of as helpful bench guards. Sexton may boast more upside, but the Cavs also haven’t seen him thrive in a smaller role like both Ross and Harris has.
Brook Lopez is a fascinating example. He is a reliable starter with an elite skill (shot-blocking / rim protection) and the outside shot to unlock lineups around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but his age, position and injury history depressed his value and he signed a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for $13 million a year. He has far outplayed that number, but at the time the Bucks couldn’t offer any more under cap rules. The Cavs and their proximity to the luxury tax are likewise saying something similar in contract negotiations.
Finally, the example of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is interesting to look at. He hit restricted free agency and the Detroit Pistons renounced his rights, letting him hit unrestricted free agency. He signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers before inking a longer deal that averaged $13 million per season. He played well enough to earn a new deal with a slight raise up to $15 million with the Denver Nuggets.
Three things stand out from this survey of players. First, that flawed and talented bench players do make around this number. Second, when you hit free agency matters. Finally, it’s rare to sign such a deal and then parlay that into a significantly higher contract number down the road.