GM Koby Altman wants Collin Sexton with the Cavs for the long haul

Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton was the subject of some trade rumors earlier in the offseason, but he remains in Cleveland, and general manager Koby Altman said Monday that he wants Sexton to stay with the team for years to come, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“We want him here long term. He wants to be here long term. We’re working with his representation to see that through, but this is someone that has been with us since the start of this thing and we love him,” Altman told reporters. “We will deal with that behind closed doors. The feelings are mutual in terms of something long term.”

Sexton is eligible for a rookie-scale extension up until Oct. 18, the day before the regular season begins. While Altman didn’t go into much detail about those negotiations, Fedor suggests that De’Aaron Fox, Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Brown have been brought up in those talks as possible financial comparables. Fox and Mitchell signed maximum-salary deals, while Brown received slightly below the max.

If the Sexton and the Cavs don’t reach an extension agreement in the coming weeks, neither Altman nor head coach J.B. Bickerstaff expects the fourth-year guard’s contract situation to affect his performance on the court this season, for better or worse.

“I don’t think (the contract) will ever affect Collin’s internal drive,” Altman said, per Fedor. “I don’t think contract or anything else will ever affect that. He just innately loves this game and wants to get better.”

Here’s more on the Cavs:

• According to Fedor (Twitter link), Kevin Love told reporters on Monday that there were never conversations this offseason about him accepting a buyout, and he has yet to have a conversation with Bickerstaff about his role for the upcoming season.
• Altman said his expectation is that everyone on the roster will be vaccinated against COVID-19 within the next few weeks (Twitter link via Fedor).
• Multiple sources tell Fedor that Dylan Windler‘s left knee is “feeling good” following April surgery, and the third-year wing is expected to be available for training camp. As one of the Cavs' better shooters, Windler could be in line for a regular role this season, but he’ll have stay healthy, writes Fedor.
• Denzel Valentine‘s two-year, minimum-salary deal with Cleveland has a $500,000 partial guarantee in 2021-22, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Valentine’s second-year salary is fully non-guaranteed.