No. 2: Collin Sexton
When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving in 2017, the return back turned out to be a disastrous combination of injured veterans and toothless young players. The one thing the franchise could hold onto as LeBron James's final season fell apart was this unprotected first-round pick from the moribund Brooklyn Nets.
The team held onto it in the face of trade possibilities to add another star to the team, with names like Paul George floated around. Instead, the franchise resisted all trade offers and perhaps hastened the exit of LeBron James out of town -- he was probably going to leave either way, but they didn't use their best trade chip to get better but instead looked ahead to drafting the team's next star.
That pick ended at No. 8, not quite the golden ticket they had hoped for, and they used the pick on Alabama guard Collin Sexton. He came in with a bang, scoring in bunches in a large role, but four years in had not risen to the level of no-doubt star the team had hoped for.
They had Darius Garland coming off of his first All-Star season and playing the same position as Sexton, and with Sexton a restricted free agent and Garland eligible for a contract extension, the team had to decide how to invest in their two guards. While Sexton had his fans among the franchise and the fanbase, it seemed clear that Garland was the better player -- and that there was no room for both on a contending Cavaliers team.
The Cavs therefore included Sexton in the trade for Donovan Mitchell, executing a sign-and-trade that saw Sexton get paid en route to the Utah Jazz, a contract he is still on this season. He had his moments in Utah as he improved his efficiency as a scorer coming largely off the bench for the Jazz, but he is a low-end starter at best. Garland, on the other hand, has blossomed into one of the most efficient offensive threats in the league and should have been an All-NBA selection last season.
The Cavaliers moved on from Sexton at exactly the right time. If they held onto him and signed him to that contract he would have plummeted in value quite quickly. The Jazz had to attach a pick to Sexton to dump him on the Charlotte Hornets this summer.
NEXT: Troublesome Ballers