Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 moves to make with LeBron James leaving
By Ryan Piers
2. Build around Collin Sexton
After an initial wave of optimism, pundits have been quick to put down Cleveland’s trade of Kyrie Irving last summer. They’ve chided the Cavs front office for dealing a franchise cornerstone for package with a mid-lottery pick as it’s center piece. One writer even called it the “infamous Brooklyn Nets” pick.
Those pundits underrate the depth of this 2018 NBA Draft. They also underrate the potential of Collin Sexton.
Sexton fits the mold of a contemporary NBA point guard. He’s supremely athletic with a score-first mindset and long arms to defend bigger wings. He averaged 19.2 points per game as a freshman at Alabama, regularly performing well in crunch time.
Like LeBron, he has the ability to blow past defenders and create open looks for his teammates. Thankfully, Cleveland has already peppered its roster with perimeter shooters to complement such a player.
He and Love should be a dynamic pick-and-roll duo, something the versatile big man excelled at in Minnesota, but hasn’t been able to utilize much in Cleveland. Most importantly, the Cavs must find a strong backcourt running mate for Sexton, as well as a reliable rim protector.