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 today 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 October 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 Cavs and Sexton 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 team’s 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 $500K partial guarantee in 2021/22, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Valentine’s second-year salary is fully non-guaranteed.
I’m excited to see the growth of this team. Obviously, by my previous posts most know I like Sexton. I hope the Cavs, in my Mother from Grinders voice, “pay this man his money”. Cavs can’t attract prime FA w/o LBJ. Might as well invest in your draft success stories. I really want to see a full year of the core (Sexland, Allen, Okoro, Mobley) play together. I think they can be a lot of fun and maybe turn the corner towards being competitive. Let’s see what we have. No need to trade for Ben.
The Cavs need a Simmons to move forward. If they get out of Love’s contract they can use that money on the young guys.
It’s a great great idea to trade Love for Simmons, but the problem is that the asking price is sky high.
Love and Sexton >> Hield and Bagley>> Beasley and Beverley
76ers should take Cavs offer
Cavs can offer 3 lottery protected Firsts
Why do they NEED Simmons when they have Garland and the cost to get Simmons would likely be Sexton plus 1st round picks? Simmons with Okoro,Mobley and Allen means Garland and Markkanen are your only shooters which means limited time for Mobley to develop. I’d rather let the core develop together.
Garland is better than Sexton. Why pay him when you can move him for value. Not about players who chase stats to get paid. NBA is a team game. Yes you need talent. But investing in the wrong talent. Sets you back as much as missing on draft picks. Mobley is a great talent to build around. Allen should eventually be moved too. Allen and Sexton can bring back good value to build around Mobley, Garland, Akoro.
@Knicks
Where in this article did you read that Sexton would be playing for a check? I swear ppl create problems where they don’t exist. Everything said was suggesting that wouldn’t be an issue. And honestly, Garland hasn’t shown anything to say he’s clearly better as a PLAYER. As a PG, perhaps. But Sexton was moved off of the position and in addition to scoring a career high 24 ppg while still shooting efficiently, increased his assist per game to 4.4 despite no longer being the point guard. They’re both good plays and from what Garland has said, good friends. Would love to see them stick together and grow. Lillard and CJ are two guards that have flourished. Build the rest of the team around them with Mobley, Allen and perhaps Okoro.
The value is Garland and Sexton together.. three deep back court..four deep front court.. can play.. One more in the coming draft.. perhaps then a “complete & unflawed” FA signing for leadership.. That’s the way forward.. Pushing it now.. is one step forward..three steps back.. or the advice: ..don’t mess with [being] Mr. Inbetween…
As a Sixers fan I would love to get back Sexton KLove and some firsts for Ben but if I was a Cavs fan I would hate it.
Yes Ben is amazing and worth build around for them but he just doesn’t fit what you currently have and that would mean flipping a lot of players. For example you paid Allen and traded for Rubio both of which wouldn’t fit well with Simmons, however Mobley and Markeneen would be good fits. Garland and Okoro both would be questionable fits at best..
Seems a bit odd, to say the least, that the HC hasn’t even told K-Love what his role is gonna be entering the new season, he may or may not be the best player in the team right now, but surely he has won the right to be respected as the top dog in the team, even if only by name… so you would assume, he would be knowing what to expect of the coming season… Anyway that’s just me, I always think that respect & doing the decent thing always goes a long way in life!