Cleveland Cavaliers star young guard Collin Sexton is coming off a second consecutive season in which he averaged north of 20 points.
The ball-dominant 22-year-old excelled for an otherwise embarrassing team, averaging 24.3 points on a stellar 47% shooting from the field. Talk about efficiency.
Despite this, there’s now some talk that the bottom-feeding Cavaliers might look to trade Collin Sexton during the offseason.
“An NBA executive suggested the Cavs could consider that (A Collin Sexton trade) because it’s a salary cap crusher to pay (Jarrett) Allen and Sexton both long-term contracts over $100 million,” Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com noted in a recent column.
Let’s get this straight. Coming off a 22-50 season, the Cavaliers might look to trade a player who averaged more points per game than any member of the team since LeBron James was doing his thing back in 2017-18.
Bad organizations will continue to stay bad if they even consider moves of this ilk. With general manager Koby Altman rightfully on the hot seat, he might look to change things up midstream. If so, here’s a look at three ideal Collin Sexton trade scenarios.
Collin Sexton trade to the New Orleans Pelicans
- Cavaliers get: Kira Lewis Jr.
- Pelicans get: Collin Sexton, future first-round pick
Perhaps, the Cavaliers are looking for more of a traditional point guard to team up with young former lottery pick Darius Garland. Jalen Suggs from Gonzaga could make sense at the top of the 2021 NBA Draft, depending on where Cleveland lands in the lottery. Even then, making a move for a promising 2020 top-13 pick in Kira Lewis Jr. would work. Adding a future first-round pick would also be key in this deal.
As for New Orleans, its decision to team Lonzo Ball up with fellow point guards in Jrue Holiday and Eric Bledsoe over the past two seasons has been a complete disaster. This move would enable Ball to play more of that traditional point guard role on offense with Sexton being an off-ball two while their roles reverse on defense. It almost makes too much sense.
Collin Sexton trade to the New York Knicks
- Cavaliers get: Obi Toppin, future first-round pick
- Knicks get: Collin Sexton
To say that team president Leon Rose will be looking to make a blockbuster move for a star player after a surprising 2020-21 regular season would be an understatement. New York has building blocks in MVP candidate Julius Randle and young wing R.J. Barrett. However, it has a major need in the backcourt. That’s where Collin Sexton could come into play. He’d team up with stud youngster Immanuel Quickley to form a solid pairing.
As for Cleveland, the struggling organization would add a former College Basketball Player of the Year and top-eight pick in Obi Toppin. He’d team up with Jarrett Allen and fellow former lottery pick Isaac Okoro in the frontcourt.
Collin Sexton trade to the Orlando Magic
- Cavaliers get: Wendell Carter Jr., 2021 first-round pick
- Magic get: Collin Sexton
Two struggling Eastern Conference teams in need of roster shake ups coming together to pull off a blockbuster trade. Stranger things have happened. Orlando will likely have two selections within the top 10 of the 2021 NBA Draft by virtue of the Nikola Vučević trade to the Chicago Bulls. In turn, it could use the Bulls’ selection as well as Carter Jr. to entice Cleveland.
From Orlando’s perspective, the idea of teaming Collin Sexton up with 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Cole Anthony in the backcourt has to be appealing. This scenario would include Markelle Fultz coming off the bench. Cleveland gets another big to go with Jarrett Allen and a second top-10 pick in the draft. It’s a win-win.
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