The lone question mark surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason is whether they will come to terms with guard Collin Sexton on a new contract.
Unfortunately, the two sides are reportedly not even close.
Cleveland has offered Sexton a deal worth $40 million over three years, but his camp isn’t happy with it.
Report: Cleveland has offered Collin Sexton “a three-year deal worth around $40 million.”
(via @ChrisFedor, https://t.co/clGOseMHMq) pic.twitter.com/6CD8sSIuey
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 24, 2022
He is likely worth significantly more than that, yet for some reason, the Cavs haven’t brought in the Brinks truck yet for him.
Sexton is pretty vital for their hopes moving forward, and he is the type of player who can make them much better offensively than they were this past season when they ranked just 20th in offensive rating and 26th in pace.
Remember, he missed most of the season with a knee injury.
The Cavs, therefore, need to meet Sexton and his agency at least halfway, lest they lose him and his impressive skill set.
Sexton Is Being Undervalued Relative To What He Brings To The Cavs
In what world is a 23-year-old player with a career average of 20.0 points a game on 45.8 percent overall shooting and 37.8 percent from 3-point land worth only about $13 million a year?
In the 2020-21 campaign, his last full and healthy one, Sexton put up 24.3 points and 4.4 assists a game.
The Cavs may not have as much revenue as a team such as the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Clippers, but lowballing players will not only result in them leaving, but it could also hurt their reputation with players around the league.
Given that Cleveland is not inherently the free agent destination that L.A., New York City or Miami are, it behooves the team to treat its key players as well as possible.
I'm not the biggest Collin Sexton fan but 3 years, $40-million is insulting.
I get the ACL tear but 20+ point scorers don't grow on trees:
Y1: 17-3-3 on 44-40-84 (82 games)
Y2: 21-3-3 on 47-38-85 (65)
Y3: 24-3-4 on 48-37-82 (60)
Y4: 16-3-2 on 45-24-74 (11)Bet on yourself 💪 pic.twitter.com/D7rbWGNIBB
— The Front Office (@NBASkoolOfThort) July 24, 2022
Sexton has the ability to take the pressure off Darius Garland while attacking off the dribble and drawing defensive attention, which could get Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen more easy looks.
At age 23, Sexton can also get better, particularly in the areas of offensive efficiency and making plays for others.
There are concerns about his defensive ability since he’s just 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, but even if he is recast into a sixth-man role, he will still get his numbers, partly because the team will need it.
There Doesn’t Seem To Be A Market For Sexton
Right now, very few teams have any real salary cap space, and it is one reason why almost no other team has expressed interest in making a contract offer to Sexton.
The Utah Jazz seemed to have some interest in doing a sign-and-trade for him, but that interest has seemed to cool off.
If there aren’t any real competing offers for Sexton, the Cavs won’t have to pay an exorbitant amount to keep him, but they also shouldn’t go to the other extreme.
Owner Dan Gilbert may not be a big fan of shelling out big bucks to keep his own free agents, but if he wants another NBA championship, especially one that won’t involve LeBron James, he’ll have to invest some money he’d rather keep.
After all, if deep playoff runs are what the Cavs will have to look forward to every year with Sexton in the fold, they will make the money back by hosting plenty of postseason games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
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