Collin Sexton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Sexton, Cavs Expectations, Cavs Offseason, Middleton

June 28th, 2021 at 5:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With the third pick in the 2021 draft now headed their way, the Cavaliers are set to consider a litany of offseason moves, including the possibility of trading 22-year-old combo guard Collin Sexton. However, sources close to Sexton anticipate that he will be part of the club’s long-term outlook, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“Our guys are hungry. I think they understand that there’s talent here and that has to now translate into wins at some point,” team general manager Koby Altman said at the conclusion of the Cavaliers’ season, when the team finished with a disappointing 22-50 record. “It’s on me to help supplement that young talent and it’s on (head coach J.B. Bickerstaff) to keep growing the culture here.”

The 6’1″ Sexton shares an undersized starting backcourt with fellow 6’1″ recent lottery selection Darius Garland. Sexton had a standout season statistically, averaging career highs of 24.3 PPG and 4.4 APG, while tying his career highs of 3.1 RPG and 1.0 SPG.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Given that they’re now armed with the No. 3 overall pick, it’s fair to expect growth from the Cavaliers next season, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. “I don’t want to put the pressure and the burden on the young core that it’s playoffs or bust, although that’s sort of what they’re talking about,” GM Koby Altman told Lloyd on Bally Sports Great Lakes’ “Drennan Live.” “If it’s the play-in tournament, if it’s playoffs, that’s where their mindset is and what they’re thinking about every day.” Lloyd notes that his preference would be to trade leading scorer Sexton, eligible for a lucrative contract extension this summer, in exchange for a proven veteran.
The Cavaliers will have a lot of optionality during the 2021 offseason, as Bobby Marks of ESPN details in a detailed look at Cleveland’s summer. Marks contends that, with a high draft pick in a loaded, top-heavy 2021 draft, the Cavaliers will be able to build on their intriguing young core of guards Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, wing Isaac Okoro, and center Jarrett Allen, should the team opt to retain everyone. Marks notes that, because the Cavaliers’ salary cap is clogged with veteran contracts, the team needs to maximize the on-court value of those pricey veterans, including former All-Star Kevin Love.
Though Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t get along with swingman Khris Middleton during their first season together in 2013/14 as they battled one another for playing time, Antetokounmpo says he trusts his sharp-shooting sidekick “to death” now, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes. With the Bucks just two wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance in 47 years (not a typo), Middleton put on an offensive clinic in a triumphant Game 3 victory over the Hawks, pouring in 38 points to go along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. “It’s great seeing this guy, man, the way we started, the way we are, the way he started and the way that he is right now, just closing games,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s what we need from Khris. We need him to be aggressive. We need him to be taking over games, make good decisions, and play off him.”

Cavs Looking To Move Collin Sexton?

June 24th, 2021 at 8:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have begun to explore trade options involving guard Collin Sexton, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated reports.

Sexton is one of the prominent players eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. He’s likely to seek a maximum contract, Woo notes, but the Cavaliers have continued to flounder during his first three seasons. The Cavs have gone 19-63, 19-46 and 22-50 during that span.

Jarrett Allen is a restricted free agent and Cleveland is expected to pursue a multiyear deal with the young center it acquired from the Nets this season.

There’s belief around the league that the Cavs would prefer to trade Sexton in order to protect their future cap flexibility, according to Woo. Sexton averaged a team-high 24.3 PPG and 4.4 APG this season.

The fact that the Cavs moved up in the lottery also plays into that notion. They hold the No. 3 pick in the draft and three of the top four prospects are guards — Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs. They could replace Sexton with a player on a rookie contract for the next few years and acquire other assets for him.

Central Notes: Pacers, Love, Sexton, LaVine

May 7th, 2021 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed on Thursday, Jake Fischer’s latest story for Bleacher Report features a number of eyebrow-raising details on Nate Bjorkgren‘s stint as the Pacers‘ head coach. However, while much of Fischer’s reporting lines up with what we’ve heard from other outlets, there has been some push-back on some aspects of the story.

For instance, Fischer initially suggested that T.J. Warren – who played under Bjorkgren in Phoenix – wasn’t consulted before Indiana made the hire and that Warren requested a trade after Bjorkgren came aboard. Fischer has since cited a source close to the situation who says Warren never formally requested a trade, and the story has been updated to say that there’s “a belief among several members of the Pacers organization” that Warren asked to be dealt.

J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star, meanwhile, tweets that the front office did ask Warren about Bjorkgren before hiring him and notes that Warren agreed to take a bigger leadership role with the team heading into the season.

Fischer also reported in his story that Bjorkgren’s acted like “a politician’s chief of staff” in Toronto when he was a Raptors assistant under Nick Nurse, sometimes preventing players and other coaches from holding conversations with Nurse if they didn’t go through him first. Asked on Thursday night about that, Nurse vehemently denied it and questioned the reporting, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Attaching an asset to trade Kevin Love isn’t something the Cavaliers want to do, and buying him out with two years and $60MM left on his contract would be difficult and pricey, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com contends the team should attempt this offseason to find the least painful way to move on from Love. Sources tell Fedor that the two sides have yet to discuss a potential buyout.
While Jason Lloyd of The Athletic believes the Cavaliers did well to nab Collin Sexton with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 draft, he doesn’t believe the third-year guard is worth a maximum-salary contract and suggests the team would be making a big mistake if it goes that high this offseason when Sexton becomes extension-eligible for the first time.
Zach LaVine, who returned to the Bulls‘ lineup on Thursday night after missing 11 games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, told reporters this week that he had taken one of his two vaccine shots when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, and didn’t experience any major symptoms (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).

Central Notes: LaVine, Sexton, Pacers Defense, Green

May 4th, 2021 at 5:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine has cleared the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and could be back on the floor as early as Thursday against the Hornets, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago.

“I think he’s excited to be back playing,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of the All-Star guard. “I think for him getting in the gym [upon being cleared] was good.”

LaVine’s return may prove to be too little, too late for the struggling Bulls. Chicago has gone 4-7 without him. Sporting a 26-39 record, the Bulls are currently 4.5 games behind the ninth-seeded Pacers, four games behind the tenth-seeded Wizards and a half-game back of the No. 11-seeded Raptors. The team has eight contests left to play.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton is aware of critical chirps from his detractors, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor notes that Sexton wants to address his critics with his play. “They feel like I’m not doing good at something, I’m going to make sure I prove them wrong,” Sexton said. “They say I can’t be a point guard. Now these next stretch of games I’m going to go out there and show them I can do both — run the team and score the ball as well, and be efficient with it. I pretty much just take the criticism and run with it, and just have them look crazy down the stretch.”
The defensively-challenged Pacers are certainly missing their anchor on that end of the floor, injured center Myles Turner, but also the tactical maneuvering of former head coach Nate McMillan and assistant coach Dan Burke, opines Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
Recently-acquired Bulls wing Javonte Green showed flashes of promise in what was ultimately a 106-94 losing effort against the Sixers on Monday. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic wonders if Green could be a potential long-term rotational addition for Chicago.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Sexton, Dellavedova, Varejão

May 2nd, 2021 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love‘s latest display of anger raises the question of why the Cavaliers are willing to be so patient with him when they won’t do the same for other players, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Frustrated with not getting a foul call in Monday’s game, Love swatted the ball away when a referee threw it to him for an inbounds pass. It bounced to a Raptors player and led to an open three-pointer in a lopsided loss. Love apologized for the incident, and the team handled it internally.

It’s the latest in a series of outbursts involving Love, whose behavior keeps getting overlooked by the organization, Vardon contends. It happened during the same week as a 50-point game by Kevin Porter Jr., who was traded to Houston after throwing food at the wall and screaming at general manager Koby Altman when his locker was given away. The Cavaliers stopped playing J.R. Smith and Andre Drummond under similar circumstances and eventually waived both players.

Cleveland has fewer options when it comes to Love, Vardon adds. He still has two years and $60MM left on the contract extension he signed as a show of loyalty after LeBron James left. It’s too expensive for other teams to consider a trade or for a buyout to be realistic. The front office promised Love that it would try to remain competitive when he signed the deal, Vardon notes, but the team quickly switched to rebuilding.

Love is 32, coming off a string of injuries and is posting the worst statistical season of his career, so he and the team may be stuck in an unpleasant situation for a while longer.

There’s more from Cleveland:

Vardon expects the Cavs to offer Collin Sexton a rookie scale extension this summer, despite the fact that it might not be in their best interest. Vardon doesn’t see a strong market for Sexton if he becomes a restricted free agent in 2022, even though he has developed into a reliable scorer. Sexton still tends to dominate the ball a lot, and the Cavs might be better off waiting another year to see if he and Darius Garland can be a successful backcourt, but Vardon believes they will give Sexton the extension to show Love and the other veteran players that the team has a plan that’s being followed.
Matthew Dellavedova is likely out for the rest of the season, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The veteran guard suffered a neck strain April 25 and hasn’t been with the team since. Dellavedova’s absence is part of why the Cavs hope to be granted a hardship exception to sign Anderson Varejão. The front office wants the 38-year-old big man to finish his NBA career in Cleveland, where he was a popular figure during his 12 years with the team.
The Cavaliers are focused on developing their young players as they wind down a disappointing, injury-filled season, Fedor adds in a separate story.

Central Notes: Cavaliers, Brissett, Diakite, Bulls

April 22nd, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Promising young Cavaliers guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland are showing signs that they can be an effective long-term pairing, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Together, the 6’1″ teammates comprise a somewhat undersized back court, but can compensate for that with high-level playmaking and scoring. The two players were top-10 picks in consecutive drafts.

“It’s really fun to play with Collin,” Garland said of his Cavaliers teammate. “It’s cool being out there with him and seeing all the stuff that he can do with the ball and even without the ball. He’s gonna go get it regardless. Anytime we need a bucket, we’re gonna go to him. Like I said, he’s gonna play hard for 48 minutes, he’s gonna do what he do.”

There’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pacers used their mid-level exception to give newly-extended forward Oshae Brissett a $757K salary for 2021/22, about three times what his minimum would have been, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video).
The Bucks applied the rest of their own mid-level exception, about $160K, to give power forward Mamadi Diakite a three-year deal, per Marks (Instagram video). The agreement also includes a $100K partial guarantee for the 2021/22 season.
The Bulls, currently the No. 12 seed in the East by percentage points despite fielding two 2021 All-Stars in Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, could see their offseason recruiting pitches impacted if they can’t at least crack the play-in tournament this season, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls are 5-10 since trading two future top four-protected draft picks and former No. 7 selection Wendell Carter Jr. in a package for Vucevic. Chicago would need to nab the No. 10 seed to make the play-in tournament this season.

Central Notes: Windler, Garland, Sexton, Teague, Markkanen

March 30th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers swingman Dylan Windler has been experiencing knee pain recently and will undergo further evaluation in the next few days, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. Windler, a late 2019 first-round pick, didn’t play at all last season due to injury. He’s seen action in 31 games this season off the bench, averaging 5.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.1 APG in 16.5 MPG.

Windler suffered a hand fracture in the season opener, which kept him out of action for nearly a month. The Cavs picked up their $2,239,200 third year option on the 24-year-old in December.

We have more on the Central Division:

Utah’s backcourt of Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell provides a blueprint of how the Cavaliers’ backcourt Darius Garland and Collin Sexton might eventually work, Fedor writes. Thus far, it’s been a work in progress. In 821 minutes with Sexton and Garland, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 106.4 and a defensive rating of 115.5, for an overall net rating of -9.1, Fedor notes. However, it’s tough to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the backcourt pairing due to a lack of continuity in the frontcourt, mainly due to injuries, Fedor adds.
Jeff Teague will have a much different role with the Bucks than he did in Atlanta with Mike Budenholzer as his head coach, Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes. Milwaukee simply needs him to be a competent backup point guard for 10-15 minutes in postseason games. Teague has agreed to join the Bucks after being waived by the Magic.
Lauri Markkanen has been relegated to the second unit with the addition of Nikola Vucevic but the Bulls’ big man doesn’t want to be considered a backup, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Markkanen will be a restricted free agent this summer, if Chicago extends a qualifying offer in excess of $9MM. “I know I’m a starter in this league but I’m going to play my role,” he said.

Cavaliers, Pistons Among Definite Deadline Sellers

March 4th, 2021 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

Because there’s now a potential path to the postseason for the top 10 teams in each NBA conference (via the new play-in tournament), it’s taking longer this season for clear sellers to emerge on the trade market, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“Most teams are still in the playoff chase, which makes everyone bunched together and the trade market less active,” a high-ranking team official told The Athletic.

However, as Charania reports, at least two teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings look like definite sellers, according to rival teams. The 13th-seeded Cavaliers and the 15th-seeded Pistons appear to be open for business.

Cleveland’s most obvious trade candidate is Andre Drummond, who has been pulled from the rotation as the team looks to find a taker for him. According to Charania, there have been some exploratory calls on Drummond, with the Bulls among the teams to express some interest, but there’s still skepticism that the Cavs will find an appealing deal for the big man, who has an unwieldy $28.75MM cap hit.

Drummond isn’t the only Cavalier on the trade block. The club has also been open to discussing JaVale McGee, Cedi Osman, and Taurean Prince, according to Charania, who hears that multiple teams have inquired on the Cavs’ wing players. Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Isaac Okoro are viewed as the club’s core pieces and are presumably off-limits.

Like the Cavs, the Pistons have an expensive big man who is sitting out as the team attempts to move him. However, Blake Griffin, who is making more than Drummond ($36.8MM) and has another guaranteed year left on his contract, will be even harder to trade. Sources tell Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic that Detroit will likely work toward a buyout with Griffin.

Veteran shooting guard Wayne Ellington is expected to draw interest from contenders on the trade market and should be a far more valuable trade chip than Griffin, given his affordable minimum salary and his strong production in 2020/21 (10.6 PPG, .435 3PT%).

According to Edwards, combo guard Delon Wright and big man Mason Plumlee have also registered interest from rival teams, but both players are under contract beyond this season, so the Pistons won’t necessarily feel compelled to move them. As Edwards explains, while Detroit will be a deadline seller, the sense around the league is that GM Troy Weaver won’t be as aggressive this month as he was during his first offseason on the job, when he remade nearly the entire roster.

Central Notes: Sexton, Karnisovas, Holiday, Doumbouya

March 3rd, 2021 at 7:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Amidst a four-game win streak, Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton has been out-dueling a series of recent All-Star guards in Trae Young, Ben Simmons, John Wall and Victor Oladipo, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sexton, frequently called the “cultural backbone” for the club by members of its front office, is averaging 29.7 PPG during the run.

The Cavaliers have a game in progress tonight against the Pacers, a club that boasts another high-level guard in Malcolm Brogdon, though he has yet to make an All-Star team. With a 14-21 record, Cleveland is currently two games behind the 10-seeded Bulls and the 9-seeded Pacers for a play-in slot in the East. Should the Cavaliers make the cut, Sexton will surely be leading the way.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago analyzes recent comments from tight-lipped new Bulls team president Arturas Karnišovas. Johnson discusses the growing mutual respect between Karnišovas and his new coaching hire, Billy Donovan, and how Karnišovas’s comments would seem to indicate his belief in Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen as long-term building blocks.
The big new addition to the Bucks roster this offseason, new starting point guard Jrue Holiday, has had a major positive impact on the club, writes Michael Pina of Sports Illustrated. Pina examines how Holiday’s two-way impact could be the key to getting Milwaukee to its first NBA Finals with All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. When Holiday is available, the Bucks rank in the top-four on both sides of the ball.
Promising Pistons power forward Sekou Doumbouya is grappling with second-year growing pains according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. “To his bad luck, he’s been playing behind Blake [Griffin] and Jerami [Grant],” head coach Dwayne Casey said of Doumbouya’s limited action thus far. “We need to get him some more minutes some kind of way, but he’s got to be ready to get out once he steps in there condition-wise, physically and I love his approach, attitude and seriousness about the game.”

Cavs Notes: Drummond, Trade Partners, Defense, Love

February 15th, 2021 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers would prefer not to take bad contracts with multiple years remaining in a potential Andre Drummond deal. However, they’re open-minded to that possibility if an asset is included that would justify a restricted future cap, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The front office would otherwise like to protect cap space with extensions for Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen on the horizon.

Cleveland has received calls on Drummond, as well as Allen and JaVale McGee, but it is not interested in dealing Allen. Fedor explores potential trade partners for Drummond and what those deals could include.

We have more on the Cavaliers:

Spencer Davies of Basketball News also speculates where Drummond, an impending unrestricted free agent after the season, could be dealt. The Raptors, Mavericks, Knicks and Kings could be among the teams in the mix if a trade is completed, while the Nets would be the front-runner if Drummond winds up on the buyout market.
Drummond didn’t play on Sunday, but that didn’t solve any problems as the Cavaliers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. They were overwhelmed by a Clippers team playing without stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, demonstrating that the team’s issues go far deeper than Drummond, Fedor writes. The Cavs’ overall effort has been lacking, especially at the defensive end. “I think defensively we need to be better,” Cedi Osman said. “I mean, it’s just not enough, especially against these types of teams. We have to play harder.”
Kevin Love has been making progress from the right calf strain that has kept him out since December 27 and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team could desperately use his veteran presence and scoring prowess, Fedor notes in a separate story. “There’s times in games when you can see ‘This is where Kevin would help us’ or ‘This is where he would help settle us in. I know right now he’d get a foul because we’re in the bonus.’ There’s those moments where you see,” Bickerstaff said.