So far, this offseason is going about as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers could have hoped.
They re-signed Ricky Rubio and padded their depth with additional moves for Raul Neto and Robin Lopez.
They also landed Ochai Agbaji, a name they were linked to throughout the pre-draft process and who adds key wing depth.
But from the Cavaliers’ perspective, the Collin Sexton saga is perhaps going even better than Cleveland’s wildest dreams.
That’s because Sexton apparently has no market, per Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.
It’s not that Sexton hasn’t received the type of offer he was looking for, it’s that, aside from a $7 million qualifying offer last week, Sexton hasn’t received any offers.
Zero, zilch.
What’s causing Sexton’s dry market?
Playing The Field
Perhaps the answer is obvious: no one wants to pay a 6-foot-1 scoring guard who’s coming off a serious knee injury.
Sexton’s defensive liabilities existed before his ACL tear.
Are teams supposed to expect a sudden defensive uptick from Sexton?
Considering defense is about hustle more than anything else, and that he’ll be extra hobbled by the knee injury, the odds aren’t great.
Then comes Sexton’s size.
Few teams boast the right backcourt mate to pair with Sexton.
Undersized guards do not have a proven track record; teams would need to pair Sexton with a long, defensive, pass-first guard.
And there just aren’t many of them in the league.
Dejounte Murray found a running mate in Trae Young, turning away the San Antonio Spurs’ interest.
The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons found their backcourt of the future in the draft, with the former pairing Tyrese Haliburton with Bennedict Mathurin, and the latter going with a Jaden Ivey–Cade Cunningham backcourt.
Could the Dallas Mavericks pair Luka Doncic with Sexton?
Notable free agents still available:
James Harden
Deandre Ayton
TJ Warren
Collin Sexton
Thomas Bryant
Dennis Schroder
Montrezl Harrell
Blake Griffin
Carmelo Anthony
Lou Williams
Juancho Hernangomez
Markieff Morris
Caleb Martin
Avery Bradley
Kent Bazemore— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 4, 2022
Probably, but only via sign-and-trade, and the Cavs aren’t interested in what the Mavs are selling.
At present, Sexton faces a few choices.
He can continue waiting this out, looking for the $20 million-plus deal he sought heading into free agency.
Sexton could come back to the negotiating table with the Cavaliers and try for a deal in the low-teens.
Or, Sexton could simply take the qualifying offer and head towards unrestricted free agency next year, turning the next campaign into a “prove-it” season for Sexton.
The Kevin Durant Logjam
Perhaps there’s another reason that Sexton’s market is quiet.
And it has to do with the fact that since last week, all of free agency has been silent.
That’s because every team is staring at the other until Kevin Durant’s future is decided.
After requesting a trade out of Brooklyn, Durant became by far the biggest player potentially on the move.
I can’t help but think that it’s a great day to resign Collin Sexton pic.twitter.com/Nc8McbmMK6
— 𝚘𝚑𝚒𝚘’𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 (@OHsVeryOwn) July 5, 2022
Why would a team move for Sexton now when it could potentially hamper their ability to get in on the KD sweepstakes?
Even if a team isn’t set to land Durant, they could get involved as a third or fourth team.
But losing cap space or players via sign and trade hampers that possibility.
That could be a big reason why guys like Sexton and Deandre Ayton remain unsigned this far into free agency.
Leave a Reply