Miami Heat: Should they pursue a trade for Collin Sexton?

The Miami Heat organization has been monitoring the future of the partnership between Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the past two weeks. Adam Borai of Five Reasons Sports stated on June 30th that Miami is interested in acquiring Sexton from the Cavaliers, as Cleveland is looking to trade him because they don’t want to give Sexton a long-term extension.

But does Sexton make sense for the Heat? Yes, and no. Head Coach, Erik Spoelstra, would most likely use Sexton as a floor spacer because they run an offensive system centered around dribble handoffs and pick and rolls.

Let’s take a look at whether the Miami Heat should pursue a trade for embattled Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton this offseason.

The Heat were 2nd during the regular season in dribble handoffs, averaging 8.3 per game. Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler accounted for 42.2 percent of those possessions, as they combined to average 3.5 per game. On the other hand, Miami was 22nd in pick and roll possessions, averaging 17.9 per game. Butler led the team in pick and rolls, as he accounted for 36.9 percent of the possessions, averaging 6.6 per game.

Miami’s offense led to most of the other role players having to be floor spacers. For instance, Kendrick Nunn took 48.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc, averaging 5.7 attempts per game; 73.7 percent of those attempts were catch and shoots as he averaged 4.2 per game.

Sexton has the skills to thrive as a floor spacer as he has made 42.9 percent of his catch and shoots on 2.1 attempts per game. Catch and shoots have accounted for 53.8 percent of his shots, as he has shot 38.5 percent from behind the arc on 3.9 attempts per game.

Although Sexton would thrive in the role of floor spacer, the issue with acquiring him would come off the court. NBA writers believe that the Cavaliers would attach Kevin Love to Collin Sexton. For example, Nekias Duncan of Basketball News suggested that the Miami Heat would have to give up Goran Dragić, Tyler Herro, Andre Iguodala, and KZ Okpala to make the trade work as the Cavaliers are likely to attach Love to Sexton.

Unfortunately, that is way too expensive for Sexton to be just a floor spacer. The Heat would have to accentuate his strengths to justify giving up that many assets for Sexton. For instance, the Heat would have to give Sexton time as a primary ball-handler because he excels in the pick and roll. Sexton has shot 43.2 percent from the field on pick and rolls since 2018 on 6.3 shots per game. The field goal percentage allowed him to score 7.1 points: 35.1 percent of his scoring output.

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However, there is a problem with allowing Sexton to be in the role of ball handler. Butler struggles to shoot outside of the restricted area. Before 2019, Butler shot 37.5 percent outside of the restricted area on 9.7 attempts.

After 2019, he saw a 3.1 percent decline in his outside shooting as he shot 34.4 percent outside of the restricted area on 8.1 attempts. Consequently, if the team puts Sexton in the ball handler role, defenders would leave Jimmy Butler open because they know he struggles to shoot the basketball.

Therefore, it increases the likelihood that Sexton would have to take a contested shot. Jimmy Butler’s weaknesses would essentially force Sexton to be a floor spacer, which means it is not worth it for the Heat to trade for him.

The Heat should look at other options on the trade market. A possible trade candidate is Harrison Barnes. Harrison Barnes is a forward who has converted 37.6 percent of his catch and shoots on 3 attempts per game. Catch and shoots are responsible for 83.3 percent of his total attempts, as he has shot 37.8 percent from behind the arc on 3.6 shots per game.

More importantly, he is likely to cost much less than Sexton. For example, the Heat could offer Andre Iguodala and Precious Achiuwa in the 2025 first-round pick in exchange for Barnes. In conclusion, although Collin Sexton seems like a great fit on the surface, Jimmy Butler’s weaknesses, combined with what the team would have to give up to acquire him, indicates that Miami should pass on a potential deal.