Collin Sexton, Management Team Might Be Making Big Mistake In Free Agency

NBA fans have been caught in a whirlwind of an offseason after big trades happened left and right throughout the past few weeks, and it even became more of a shock when Kevin Durant asked for a trade out of the Brooklyn Nets.

Lost in the midst of all the big news is the restricted free agency of Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Collin Sexton.

It was recently reported that the Cavaliers offered Sexton a deal worth around $40 million for the next three years as he looks to make his way back to form after suffering a torn ACL.

However, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Sexton might not be willing to take the deal after all.

“The fourth-year guard and his representation, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, have shown so far that they won’t settle in negotiations,” he initially wrote.

“Discussions could go into training camp, and potentially into the season when the landscape of the league’s rosters shift.”

There are a number of obstacles in Sexton’s way towards getting a bigger deal though.

Spotrac illustrated the cap space the franchise currently has and they are well above the 2022-23 salary cap of $123.6 million and Sexton’s deal, likely to be backloaded in order to provide them some form of relief, might be the best they can offer for now.

Other than the cap space, Darius Garland’s ascent to being an All-Star caliber player happened at the expense of Sexton.

The loss of Sexton allowed Garland to flex his skills as a lead guard as evidenced by his averages of 21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.3 steals in 68 appearances.

While this does put a damper on things for Sexton’s future, he will need to make a choice sooner or later.

He can accept the Cavaliers’ offer on the table or he can bet on himself and take the $7.2 million qualifying offer that will make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023.

However, this runs the risk of Sexton needing to put extreme effort on the court to justify a big deal next season or be forced to get a much smaller deal if he gets injured again this season.

All in all, Sexton and his management team will need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of what they plan to do next.