Will the Dallas Mavericks force the Cleveland Cavaliers hand to get Collin Sexton?

The Dallas Mavericks have interest in Collin Sexton but are they going to play chicken with the Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a situation where they may or may not retain Collin Sexton depending on what other NBA teams decide to do. The Cavs gave Sexton a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent. This gives the Cavs the first right of refusal on any contracts. This means the Cavs can match any contract Sexton gets from any other team, say the Dallas Mavericks for example.

If a team offers Sexton a contract, the Cavs can just match it and sign him at that figure but teams are willing to overpay guys if it means getting them away from other teams. The New York Knicks just did this for Jalen Brunson, who’s at best a team’s third-best scorer on most championship squads, but someone the Knicks paid a king’s ransom for.

If the Mavericks intend on racking up Sexton’s figure into the mid-to-late 20s, the Cavs will be forced to match it or let him go. Most people don’t think Sexton is a $20+ million player, and I’d tend to agree with that. Then again, I don’t think Brunson is close to a $20+ million player and he got nearly $10 million on top of what he’s worth.

So it’s clear that desperate NBA teams are desperate and will try to do some stupid stuff to get guys signed.

Collin Sexton’s estimated value is far lower than what people were expecting

The Cleveland Cavaliers were prepared to talk turkey around the $18-plus million dollar range, which isn’t too far off from what Sexton and his people wanted. They were apparently pushing for north of $20 million.

That’s fine, but it looks like some in the NBA see his value at $10-$12 million according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix cites two NBA executives, saying;

"Sexton has said he wants to return to Cleveland. The Cavaliers say they want him back. The question is, can the two sides agree on a number? The Cavs are expected to match reasonable offers for Sexton — two execs pegged Sexton’s value at $10-12 million per season — increasing the chances that Sexton, a 24-point per game scorer in ’20-21, returns to Cleveland."

The Cavs would be better off waiting for any offers to come in. If Sexton gets lower than expected, the Cavs can jump in and snag up Sexton on a much better deal than they originally expected. Considering how much Garland is going to be getting paid in a year, the Cavs are going to want to save as much money as possible.

Even if it bruises some egos.