To my medically untrained eyes, Collin Sexton‘s knee looks just fine.
Last week, Sexton teamed up with Cavaliers wing Isaac Okoro for a little five-on-five workout.
But the other names weren’t Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
No, Sexton and Okoro matched up against Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
And thankfully, we got to see the workout.
At least the parts the players wanted us to see, that is.
Criss Cross
Edwards is one of the league’s up-and-coming talents, having exploded onto the scene last season as the T-Wolves made it to the postseason.
And knee surgery didn’t stop Sexton from putting Edwards on skates.
At around the 15-second mark, you can see Sexton guarded by Edwards, ball in hand.
Sexton drives, and pulls up quickly, only to whip out a nasty pump fake that sends Edwards flying over Sexton:
EVERYONE pulling up to pro runs at The O 🤯 @tksmith1104 @theantedwards_ @CollinSexton02 @isaacokoro303 pic.twitter.com/mRJjeXwI03
— Overtime Elite (@OvertimeElite) August 4, 2022
Look, the Timberwolves guard isn’t the second coming of Gary Payton defensively.
Over his last two seasons, Edwards has posted a defensive rating of 116 and 112, respectively.
But he’s still a star.
It’s honestly surprising more videos like this haven’t come out from Sexton’s camp this summer.
As it stands, Sexton has only two offers on the table so far in restricted free agency, both from the Cavaliers.
One of those is a multi-year extension, a three-year offer for $40 million.
The other is the initial $7.2 million qualifying offer Sexton received that sent him to restricted free agency.
And so far, Sexton has maintained a desire to hold out until he gets an offer closer to the $18-20 million he was looking for at the start of free agency.
Thought Bubble
A fun thought experiment: where would we be if Collin Sexton hadn’t injured his knee and only played in 11 games last season?
Answering that question might unlock the key to understanding Sexton’s value.
Door number one sees Sexton and Garland teaming up for yet another season of mediocre play.
That assumes that the leap Garland took this season was due in part because of Sexton’s absence.
And it’s a fair observation; until now, Garland’s (and Sexton’s) future with the Cavaliers was murky.
How did Cleveland fare in those first 11 games with Sexton?
The Cavaliers went 7-4, outscoring opponents by roughly one point (106 to 104.9).
Over the next 71 games, though, that figure doubled and then some (108.1 to 105.8).
So Cleveland gave up more points, but also found ways to score more.
I’ve never seen a 20 PPG scorer get treated like a bum as much as Collin Sexton
— 𝙏𝙅 ☔️ (@ImperiumNFL) August 6, 2022
And surprisingly, the number of shots per game didn’t dip drastically (85.5 through the first 11, 84.5 the rest of the way).
Look, I certainly don’t think 11 games is a large enough sample size to judge Sexton.
But perhaps three seasons is enough?
And while Sexton has shown he can score, there’s something to be said for the fact that the Cavaliers didn’t completely implode without him.
If anything, Garland was finally unleashed and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen became two formidable defensive forces.
All that to say, there is no shortage of reasons Sexton has so few suitors this offseason.
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