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.
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks start us off because they have the worst of the three possible deals. Asking the Mavericks to send us Luka Doncic isn’t realistic, and frankly, there isn’t a lot here that I’d want back anyway. So considering the deal is very limited, we’re looking at the more interesting pairing.
So what would the Cavs look like if we got the third member of the Nets Big Three from their rebuilt squad? We already have Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, so why not Spencer Dinwiddie? It’s not a sexy trade by any means, so there’s going to need to be some other incentives in the deal.
Josh Green doesn’t excite me much, but I think swapping him in a future trade is doable, plus we’ll get the Mavericks’ first-round pick for 2025, which probably will be in the mid-to-late 20s, but I’ll take anything I can get at this point.
I don’t like this trade by any means, but I also know that the Mavs don’t have a lot to offer, so this is the best of the bad options. Dinwiddie isn’t a player of need, Green isn’t a great upgrade over Dylan Windler, and a late-first-round pick might as well be a second-rounder. So we’re just doing the best we can with the Mavs.
If their interest in Sexton is real, they’re going to have to get far more creative than I did.
Utah Jazz
Now, before you get all worked up, no, Donovan Mitchell isn’t part of the trade. To get Mitchell, the Cavs would have to give up a lot more than Sexton, and we’re not looking to blow up this team. We’re trying to keep this team intact, not give up draft picks and get as much back as possible in a believable trade.
Enter the Jazz. If the Jazz is serious about Sexton, they may favor him enough to part with two of their more financially demanding players in Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson. After all, the team is looking to rebuild, and trading them is imperative.
Now, I’m viewing Sexton as a major player in this trade, maybe more so than he actually is. If that’s the case, the Cavs can be the one shipping back draft picks to the Jazz, but nothing out of the second round.
That said, I want at least two “big” assets back for Sexton. For the Mavs, it was Spencer Dinwiddie and a first-round pick, and for the Jazz, it’s Bogdanovic and Clarkson. Now, Jazz fans might be mad at this trade but they have to keep in mind that Clarkson is only a 32% three-point shooter, with a negative DBPM for his career. He’s not a huge asset.
He went to Utah for two second-round picks. Windler and Stevens are worth a second-rounder each.
As mentioned before, I’m ok swapping the seconds and sending two to Utah if that helps goose the deal.
Washington Wizards
Now, this is the trade I think helps the Cavs the most, even if it’s not the most obvious. This is a trade that gets made when the Cavs have given up on Caris LeVert as well, and decide to ship him elsewhere in a separate deal. Dealing both Sexton and LeVert is far more preferable to moving Sexton and keeping LeVert.
I’m also willing to add Isaac Okoro to the deal if need be. The idea is you get a point-forward, defensive wing Deni Avdija who can replace Okoro and be a better all-around offensive player than Okoro, while being a bit better defensively. Corey Kispert gives the Cavs a solid three-point shooting prospect, while Rui Hachimura gives the Cavs depth at small and power forward.
Not to mention a viable option if Kevin Love leaves in 2023.
Now, I know Ian Mahinmi is retired, but his contract can still be traded for some reason, so that’s what we’re doing. Mahinmi will stay retired and the team would likely wave Taj Gibson, as he won’t get any minutes on the Cavaliers.
For the Wizards, they get a guard they covet in Collin Sexton, a point-forward who can lead their second-unit in Cedi Osman, plus two defensive-minded players in Okoro and Dylan Windler, as well as a catch-all forward in Lamar Stevens. If Windler can work his shot out, he could be a starter for the Wizards.
Now, this trade works for the Cavs, due to the production of the three younger guys coming over. They work because none of them are All-Star caliber guys in Washington. Hachimura can’t stay healthy, Kispert might never be a 40% shooter and Avdija has been so misused in Washington it’s not even funny.
The Wizards need guys who can be stars, and Sexton gives them that guy. The three guys on the other side of things don’t make the Wizards good enough while they have Bradley Beal, which is why you put them in a deal for Sexton.
You have a better chance of getting more out of Sexton and Okoro if you’re Washington than you do Avdija and Hachimura, and with the logjam at guard, the Cavs need a focus on forwards and they get that in this deal.