The New York Knicks are reportedly interested in a trade for Cavs guard Collin Sexton. Here’s why they should do it.
It’s the offseason in the NBA, which means New York Knicks fans are disagreeing. Our first name is Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Knicks are “the most aggressive trade suitor” for Sexton, and SNY’s Ian Begley confirmed they had “legitimate” interest in dealing for the 22-year-old.
Sexton is a no-brainer trade option for the Knicks. He averaged 24.3 points per game last season on 47.5 percent shooting and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. I shouldn’t even need to explain this one. But unfortunately, there are doubters.
Why are the Cavs trading a player who just put up those numbers at such a young age? The easy answer is that they don’t want to pay him. Bad teams don’t pay up, and Cleveland is already likely to fork over a $100 million extension to Jarrett Allen. On top of that, they’re saddled with the contract of former Team USA star Kevin Love.
People are making too big a deal out of the Cavs’ front office choosing Darius Garland over Sexton. If Masai Ujiri had Sexton in his building for three years and said, “I don’t know about this dude,” that would set off the alarm. But it’s the crack team of experts who’ve led the losingest franchise in basketball for the last three seasons.
The losing plays into Sexton’s dramatically bad on/offs and plus-minus numbers. During Sexton’s career, only two players have had a positive plus-minus: Ante Zizic (+14 in 221 minutes in ’18-’19) and Dante Exum (+6 in 116 minutes in ’19-’20).
Also, don’t read too much into Sexton’s reported issues with teammates. We heard the same thing about Trae Young and John Collins months ago. Winning heals all wounds in the NBA. Also, Cleveland has been a dumpster fire during Sexton’s tenure between the John Beilein disaster and Love’s turning into a grumpy washed man.
I don’t know why so many Knicks fans – except the Lonzo Ball fans, we all know what that’s about – are acting like it’s a foregone conclusion that Sexton is going to stay the player he is now forever. Twitter user Rit Holtzman expertly outlines Sexton’s perceived flaws on both ends of the court and some reasons to believe he can improve.
Ultimately, this trade comes down to money. If Sexton indicates to the front office that he wants a max deal – he’s eligible to sign for five-years, $168 million – then you can wish him luck. But I don’t think anyone is going to give him something close to that.
In Mike Vorknuvov’s piece for The Athletic, he insinuated that an extension of $72-80 million for Sexton would be a fair offer for the combo guard. The Knicks should have roughly $50 million in cap room this summer, so giving Sexton that deal won’t impact their ability to sign a max player in the future. In addition, they don’t need to pay Sexton right away. He has another year left on his deal.
Let’s dive deeper into why the Knicks should go after Sexton.
The Offense Is Bad, Duh
The Knicks had a top five defense in the NBA last season, but they finished in the bottom half of the league in offensive rating for the seventh straight season. Adding Sexton to an offense that already features Julius Randle (24.1 ppg) and RJ Barrett (17.6 ppg) gives you three legitimate scoring threats.
When you factor in that Barrett, 21, and Sexton, 22, still have so much room left to grow, it makes the potential of this team even more intriguing.
We know Tom Thibodeau’s offense is predicated on having ball handlers who can attack the paint. The Knicks were in the top ten in drives per game and points off drives last season, per NBA Stats. Individually, Sexton was one of the league’s best drivers. He finished in the top ten in both categories himself.
The Knicks are in desperate need of players who can create their own jump shot. Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, and Derrick Rose (if he returns) are threats off the dribble but a little help would be nice. Sexton’s go to move is the pullup midrange jumper.
According to Cleaning the Glass, 44 percent of Sexton’s attempts came from the midrange last season. That put him in the 93rd percentile for combo guards. This isn’t going to turn into some anti-midrange rant, if you make them take them. That’s what Sexton does. He’s a valuable three-level scorer with incredible speed which allows him to penetrate and also get to the free throw line at a consistent rate.
Sexton made 100 more free throws (312) than any Knick not named Julius Randle last season. He actually averaged more made FTs than Julius but Randle played a million minutes so the totals were different. The next step in Sexton’s development is hitting a pull up three. Similar to RJ Barrett, who only made six pullup triples last season, Sexton needs to add that element to his game.
If there’s one criticism I have, it’s that Sexton needs to take more three-pointers overall. He only attempted 4.4 shots from downtown last season. If he can start bumping up those attempts while maintaining a solid percentage, watch the hell out.
The last time I checked, you can’t win a basketball game unless the ball goes in the hoop a lot. We underrate the value of guys who can do that. There’s more to being a good player than just one aspect of the game, but 24 points per game scorers don’t grow on trees.
Low Risk, High Reward
Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword tweeted out that a trade package of Obi Toppin, Kevin Knox, and one of New York’s two first-round draft picks is a potential trade option for Sexton. If the price is that low, this shouldn’t even be a discussion. Of course, the Knicks should make this trade.
Wanting to keep Toppin – who’s one year older than Sexton – isn’t a reason not to trade for a talent like Sexton. Obi is fun to watch and easy to root for, but he plays the same position as New York’s best player. Julius Randle played more minutes than anyone in the NBA last season, and that number isn’t going down.
Thibs made it clear that he doesn’t see Toppin and Randle as a frontcourt option. Obi and Julius were on the court for all of 85 possessions last season, per Cleaning the Glass. There might be a path to success in the league for Obi. It’s just not with the Knicks.
If you’re still on the Kevin Knox bandwagon, then I wish I had your resolve.
Trading draft picks is always tricky. Having two picks – plus one early in the second round – makes it a lot easier. It really depends on what they want to do with the picks. They could try to move up to take a player they think will be better than Sexton at some point.
The Coaching Staff
Sexton would fit in great with this team. Some fans may be upset now, but they’ll likely fall in love with the kid if he ends up in New York. He was an unranked recruit following his junior year of high school before bursting onto the scene months later with offers from Kansas, UNC, and Villanova. He chose Alabama.
Sexton couldn’t have taken that next step without putting in the work. An article from 2017 describes Sexton’s high school work ethic as maniacal. He would wake up before 6 AM to work out, go to school, then practice with his HS or AAU team. After practice came the skills workouts, which couldn’t end until Sexton made 300 jump shots.
The biggest concern regarding Sexton right now is his defense. At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Sexton will never be a player who can guard big wing players. But with this trade, you’re betting big on the coaching staff and Tom Thibodeau, in particular, that has shown they can get players to buy in on defense.
The narrative on Sexton right now is that he’s an empty stats guy. His big counting stats haven’t added up to much winning. But Devin Booker and Trae Young were considered empty stats guys until this season. Sexton isn’t the player Booker or Young is, but the narrative changed around those guys, and it can change around Sexton.
Booker and Young needed to be surrounded by a winning culture – and better teammates – to begin thriving. Sexton would finally be able to have that with the Knicks. It’s pretty great to be able to say, “winning culture,” and be talking about the Knicks.
Sexton is polarizing among his own fanbase so it’s not surprising that Knicks fans are split on trading for him. But the Knicks have the opportunity to add a special talent brimming with potential at a low cost. Did I mention he’s a CAA guy? No-brainer.
Let us know who you would want the New York Knicks to trade for Collin Sexton in the comment section below or in the social media comments section of where this piece is posted!
