The Cleveland Cavaliers and Collin Sexton are not anywhere close to agreeing to a new deal. The Cavs have reportedly offered three years and $40 million to Sexton, which equates to about what a good bench guard should expect. Sexton, understandably so, wants much more.
If the Cavs and Sexton can’t agree on mutual terms for “Young Bull” to return to the team, then either Sexton takes his $7.23 million qualifying offer or he needs to find an offer elsewhere. The teams with cap space, namely the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, don’t seem to be interested in inking him to an offer.
Sexton and his camp will therefore have to go to teams without cap space for an offer, and convince them not only to sign him to a larger deal than the one that the Cavs are offering but to do so alongside trading assets to bring him in.
The Cavs and Collin Sexton need to get creative to help him get paid. Would this sign and trade idea with the Orlando Magic work for all sides?
Since that seems like the best “win-win-win” type of scenario for all parties, we are going to highlight it in the coming days or even weeks as the negotiations draw out. Which teams might be interested in trading for Sexton? To which packages would the Cavs say yes?
Today let’s highlight one such example, a trade with the Orlando Magic that would bring back help on the wing, give the Magic a dynamic scorer, and get Sexton paid – at least, more than he would be in Cleveland. Here’s the trade:
Let’s break down why each of the three parties might do this trade, starting with the Cavaliers.
Cavs sign and trade with Magic: Why the Cavs would do it
The Cleveland Cavaliers are stuck in something of a bind with the Collin Sexton negotiations. They genuinely seem to like Sexton, and want to do right by him. They also recognize that building a contending team means Sexton in a small role, not a large one, and therefore can’t afford to pay him what he wants.
Moving Sexton to another team and getting back a player who can fit into what they are trying to do, win in the playoffs, without demanding the ball is exactly the right move. The problem is that the Cavs are also trying to balance the potential of using maximum cap space next summer and adding a long-term contract would hamper that.
That’s what makes Gary Harris such a perfect fit. He has revitalized his career in Orlando and his jumpshot looks much more consistent. He is a good defender who can serve as a 3-and-D wing for the Cavs, the veteran model for what they want Ochai Agbaji to be, at least initially (Agbaji still could become much more of a movement shooter than Harris).
The best part? Harris is on a two-year, non-guaranteed deal. If the Cavs know they need the maximum amount of cap space available to them, they can waive Harris before his contract guarantees and free up $13 million more in room to sign a max free agent, perhaps even LeBron James himself.
If not? Then the Cavs can keep Harris around for another year, a veteran wing to fill a spot in the rotation for another playoff run. Chuma Okeke is a flier in return for their own flier of Dylan Windler; he could get rerouted to another team if the Cavs want, as they’ll need to open up a roster spot somehow.
Cavs sign and trade with Magic: Why the Magic would do it
Last season the Orlando Magic were not exactly trying to win games. They were all-out tanking, with two key players out to start the year with injuries and a roster stocked with players on rookie contracts. It worked, too, as they won only 22 games (fewest in the Eastern Conference) and landed the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, which they used on Paolo Banchero.
Even in the midst of an organizational plan to emphasize draft position (not bad for spin, huh?) a glaring weakness on this team was exposed. Their offensive rating, or points scored per 100 possessions, was 104.5. That ranked 30th in the league, and far below league average. The Cavs, in 20th place with a 111.9 offensive rating, were substantially closer to the Utah Jazz in first than to the Magic in 30th.
They addressed part of that weakness in the draft, adding the best on-ball scoring threat in the draft in Paolo Banchero. They have some talented guards to put around him, but none of them are dynamic scoring threats. Jalen Suggs proved to be more of a defender than an all-around guard as a rookie, Markelle Fultz can’t shoot, and Cole Anthony is a wildly inconsistent combo guard who runs hot and cold.
Collin Sexton would immediately give them a steadying force in the backcourt, and his scoring punch would fill a major need. His defensive limitations would be helped by playing alongside Fultz or Suggs, both tough defenders with size. He and Banchero would be a dangerous one-two punch on offense. Sexton’s problems scaling up for a contending team matter less for the Magic, who are a few years behind the Cavs in the team-building process.
Cavs sign and trade with Magic: Why Sexton would do it
Collin Sexton may genuinely love playing in Cleveland, but he also seems to love handling and scoring the basketball at a high rate. He probably can’t do both, and he certainly can’t do both while getting paid like a star player. If Sexton wants to make more money now and prove himself an offensive star, he needs to go to another team.
Orlando is a really solid fit for that, as their “co-star” slot is open alongside Paolo Banchero. Jalen Suggs or Franz Wagner could fill that role, but they look more like solid supporting pieces, good starters on a good team. Wendell Carter Jr. is likewise a really solid two-way center, but he’s not an on-ball star. The room is there for Sexton to spread his wings and attempt to soar.
The money in this scenario is $16.5 million, more than three million per season more than his offer from the Cavs. Sexton surely wants more, something like $20 million per season, but the realities of his situation and his lack of leverage make that exceedingly unlikely. $16-17 million seems like his ceiling for now.
The Magic seem to have a really solid foundation in place, so Sexton wouldn’t be shackling himself to the lottery. This seems like a good fit for him and one of the best situations he could land in for both playing time, scoring opportunities and future success.
Cavs sign and trade with Magic: Final Verdict
There is one simple path available to the Cavaliers and Sexton at this point: agree to a contract. Since that doesn’t appear likely, and there are no cap space teams willing to sign Sexton to an offer sheet, it’s time for the two sides to get creative in finding a solution for Sexton.
The Orlando Magic have not been linked to Sexton in trade rumors, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be open to such a deal. He fills a need and is a much better fit on the Magic than he is on the Cavs. If he is the player he thinks he is, the Magic will get a steal with this contract. If he is not, the rising cap will make this deal very reasonable by the end.
It truly does seem like a win-win-win all around, a deal that helps the Cavs while affording them future financial flexibility, fills a need for the Magic with a player more talented than one they could realistically sign in free agency, and offers Sexton a landing place to hoop.
That doesn’t make this deal likely to happen, but no single trade idea is. The point of the exercise is to look around the league to find potential deals, just as the Cavs’ front office and Sexton’s agency Klutch Sports is doing right now. Here is one that could work if all the sides bought in.