Cavaliers News: Qualifying Offer Move On Ex-Top Pick Working In Cavs’ Favor

Collin Sexton is one of several young players waiting for a huge payday. And while the 8th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft has shown promise, that chance may have to wait.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a risk on the 23-year-old cager, handing him a qualifying offer that resulted in him becoming a restricted free agent.

But as most know, Sexton could have easily gone to another team with a potentially better offer. So far, nothing close to that has happened.

There are a lot of reasons behind that. One is that the 6-foot-1 guard is injured, forcing him to play only 11 games in the 2021-22 season. He normed 16 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28.7 minutes of action.

Sexton incurred a knee injury on Nov. 7, 2021, in a game against the New York Knicks. It turned out to be a torn left meniscus and the native of Georgia ended up undergoing season-ending knee surgery.

As a result, the interest in Sexton unsurprisingly waned. Teams who could offer him something better than the $8.6 million offer hardly popped up and it appears Sexton will remain on the Cavs’ roster – at least for the 2022-23 season.

Given that span, the Cavs remain hopeful of closing a deal with Sexton according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Both sides are working to find the right price and talks have allegedly gone well.

But if both sides fail to reach an agreement, it would be fair to expect Sexton hoping to get better luck next summer. That will all hinge on how he can successfully return to action and build attention once more.

Aside from his injury woes, another aspect that hounds Sexton is ball distribution. Reports came out previously that his Cavs teammate was not too fine with the Alabama Crimson Tide’s type of play, something that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff may need to address for the coming season.

That could also factor into what the Cavs plan for Sexton, a barometer to see if he is worth keeping or not.