Cavs: Never forget that Koby Altman passed on Luka Doncic and Trae Young for Collin Sexton

Cavs fans should never forget that Koby Altman passed on Luka Doncic.

Kent Bazemore. If the Cavs had just taken on Bazemore’s contract, the Cavs would’ve been able to draft Luka Doncic or Trae Young. This will forever be Koby Altman’s legacy. With Young leading the Hawks against the 76ers and wrecking their star perimeter player Ben Simmons, and Doncic going toe to toe with the LA Clippers in a series the Mavericks probably could’ve won had Doncic had any help whatsoever; it’s become a painful reminder of what the Cavs passed on for Collin Sexton.

Now some of you will go off in the comments with your “well actually’s”, so yes, let’s cut you off at the knees. Sexton was taken with the eighth pick, Doncic with the third, and Young with the fifth. They were already off the board when the Cavs were picking.

Except, the Hawks, who took Doncic with the third pick before trading him to Dallas for Young, had called Cleveland first. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com revealed the Cavs were called about a trade. The deal was the Hawk’s third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and Bazemore for the Cavs pick at eight. That would’ve given the Cavs the third pick and the ability to draft Doncic or Young, both of whom became franchise stars for their teams.

Instead, the Cavs stayed put and were applauded for not making the trade, as it would’ve been “fiscally irresponsible”. All because Bazemore was owed $18.1 in 2018 and $19.3 in 2019. For less than $40 million, the Cavaliers could’ve gotten a generational player to build around. Seems fiscally prudent to think beyond the short term.

Now, Chris Fedor refutes these claims, claiming his sources said differently. Except, we now know the Cavs organization was on a campaign of sorts to promote Sexton in every way they could and were ordered to praise the shooting guard. The idea the organization gave someone false information isn’t new and it’s not unheard of.

Vardon isn’t a Cavs reporter, so he has no fidelity to the organization, something Fedor might since he is a local reporter.

So yes, Vardon’s report seems more credible considering all the turmoil the Cavaliers have dealt with over the years.

Now that Collin Sexton is in trade rumors, Koby Altman should be fired.

There’s really no other to describe Koby Altman at this point in his tenure with the Cavs other than as a failure. Yeah, he got Jarrett Allen and didn’t end up giving Andre Drummond a contract, but that doesn’t exactly make him good at his job.

Only someone who lies to themselves would argue that Collin Sexton is anywhere close to the level of player that Luka Doncic or Trae Young is. Both Young and Doncic are bonafide playmakers, who can lead teams to the playoffs, score from everywhere, and be everything a team needs them to be.

Sexton isn’t that. You can argue that he could be, one day, but to that, I’d say the others already are. So why wait and hope for Sexton to finally take the leap when Doncic and Young have been doing it for years now.

Sure, there are conflicting reports here, but the Mavericks got a trade done, so let’s not pretend that the Cavs couldn’t. Especially when Kevin Love was making very close to what Kent Bazemore was. No one would bat an eye at including him in that trade now.

Who knows what the Cavs look like if Altman makes the trade and picks Doncic or Young. They’d certainly be in a better position, that’s for sure. All it would’ve cost was the contract of Bazemore.

That realization should make any Cavalier fan sick, especially with the rumors that Sexton may very well be traded in 2021. The Cavs were confident that they could get a game-changer in that draft, so they opted not to take on the extra salary. Now, look at them.

All because Altman opted not to make the move.