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3 Collin Sexton trade packages that make sense for the Cleveland Cavaliers

By Chad Porto

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIl 5: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers misses his shot but is fouled by Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at AT&T Center on April 5, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIl 5: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers misses his shot but is fouled by Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at AT&T Center on April 5, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /
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The Clevland Cavaliers may have to trade Collin Sexton away to make the money work.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are about to hit the luxury tax by re-signing Collin Sexton, and considering just how expensive going into it actually is, the team would be wise to re-think re-signing Sexton to the number he wants. The Cavs are already in a market where it’s hard to generate revenue in the first place, and with about half of the NBA teams losing money in any given year, the team has to be mindful of its finances.

The NBA’s revenue sharing has saved many a franchise, but the Cavs may not be one of them, as they were in the Top 15 last year in revenue. The only way they turn a profit however is if they win and don’t go into the luxury tax.

Signing Sexton to a new deal at the price he wants isn’t conducive to the team’s viability as a franchise or a money maker for the league. So a trade may need to be in order. Now admittedly the team will go into the Luxury Tax in any of these trades, as they’re all sign-and-trades for Sexton, and that means taking back a sizeable amount of money in return.

However, with Kevin Love’s deal expiring in the offseason, the Cavs will only spend the 2022-2023 season in the Luxury Tax, as opposed to a three or four-year potential stint if they re-sign Sexton to a $20+ million deal. Even if the Cavs could re-sign Sexton long-term-ish, you still have to deal with the fact that the team will still be up against the tax.

You can flip some veterans and not get a lot of guff back from it, but trading Sexton after giving him a new contract would be bad optics.

Now, for this exercise, we’re going to give Sexton a four-year, $87 million deal in every trade scenario. We’re also going to go with the rumors that the Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, and Utah Jazz are the teams most interested in Sexton, as that’s the going word.

We’re also going to juggle these trades by deciding if they’re realistic, and what is the best possible trade we can get without being unrealistic. For instance, trading Sexton for Donovan Mitchell is a non-starter, because a straight-up trade would never fly.

The goal is to flip Sexton, maybe get some nice pieces back, and not give up any draft picks in any deals. For this process, we used the Fanspo trade machine, as it’s far more accurate and detailed than the ESPN one. So with that stated, let’s get into it.

And just for a piece of mind, I want to state for the record that I don’t want to trade Sexton, and that I think we should trade Caris LeVert to re-sign Sexton. Yet, this is the exercise we’re playing out.

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