Coming into the offseason, one of the players mentioned most often in NBA trade rumors was Cleveland Cavaliers point guard, Collin Sexton. Sexton and the team were reportedly far apart on negotiations for an extension, so the team was looking into possibly trading him.
Sexton has great raw statistics. When you look at his per-game averages throughout his three-year career, some things catch your eye.
He has surpassed 20 points per game twice, most recently averaging a career-high 24.3 points per game. It is a rather efficient scoring effort as well, as Sexton has a career shooting split of .458/.385/.831. He chips in 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.2 minutes per game as well.
But, when you take a deeper dive into his performance, some shortcomings arise. Sexton was seemingly thrown under the bus by veteran teammates early in his career as well, which is something that would be very difficult for a young player to handle.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Cavaliers Still Expected To Consider Collin Sexton Trade
He isn’t the best decision-maker with the ball in his hands, so he is difficult to trust full-time right now as the lead guard. Effort and energy are not something that is in question with Sexton, but it is difficult for him to make an impact defensively with his size.
Despite those shortcomings, it is still surprising that an extension of some kind wasn’t able to be agreed upon. Here is an inside look at how those talks went between Sexton and the Cavaliers.
“Sexton, the No. 8 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and lone remaining piece of the Kyrie Irving trade, was hoping for a multi-year deal, north of $100 million, that aligned with his production over the first three years, a source said. There were multiple structures discussed. Different lengths. Incentives. Unique clauses. Bonuses. The Cavs never found a comfortable deal,” Fedor wrote.
At 22-years old, Sexton is only scratching the surface of his potential. Not locking him up could ultimately prove costly for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will now have to compete with other teams for him in restricted free agency.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Cavaliers Still Expected To Consider Collin Sexton Trade
There were several teams reportedly interested in Collin Sexton when he was on the trade block earlier this offseason. Those teams have gone in other directions for this season, but the Alabama product will likely have a good amount of teams showing interest in him during free agency.
