Cavaliers draft Collin Sexton

The Cleveland Cavaliers may not know if LeBron James is returning and they may not know who will actually be on the roster come October when the season starts, but they still had to make a selection in the first round of the NBA Draft and their selection made sense from a positional need but did the selection of point guard Collin Sexton of Alabama move the needle enough to bring James back or he is desirable enough to deal with another team as part of a package to land the star that the team needs to team with James in a possible return?

The 6'3 Sexton averaged 19.2 points in his only season at Alabama under former NBA player Avery Johnson and shot 44 percent from the floor ( 33 percent from the shorter college three-point area).
Sexton is very explosive to the basket, handles the ball well, is a willing passer and has the type of game that the current point guard in fashion in the league is favoring.
In other words, he's the point guard that likes the ball in his hands but isn't afraid to score himself.
Sexton is also regarded as a player that likes to play defense and isn't afraid to get rough when he defends either, neither of which is always a box that is checked when discussing draft prospects.

Of the available point guards, I thought Sexton was the best available as I graded him slightly ahead
of Trae Young of Oklahoma (Atlanta through Dallas), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Kentucky (Charlotte) and Boston College's Jerome Robinson (L.A.Clippers) as more of what the point guard challenged Cavaliers might be looking for.

I don't think Young is a playmaker, I think he may be an excellent player, but he's going to be a scoring guard that is listed as a point due to his size, Gilgeous-Alexander is more of a two-guard as well and Robinson doesn't bring the quickness and speed that Sexton brings to the table, so with the Cavaliers largest need (Other than keeping LeBron James), Sexton was the safest pick and one that made the most sense on the surface, especially if you believe the various whispers that James preferred Sexton as his choice among the available draft prospects.

The biggest question that I and others have about Collin Sexton is the outside shot.
Let's face it 44 percent isn't a great percentage and that is likely inflated by the easy drives to the hoop.
The 33 percent from three-point land is a greater concern when you consider how much the game has placed more importance on the ability to consistently connect from behind the line.
If Sexton's outside game doesn't at least improve to league average. the value of this selection dips considerably.

I must admit to preferring the 6'10 wing player Michael Porter of Missouri over Sexton.
I know that he had back issues at 19 and that often leads to bigger problems down the road, so I realize that the Cavaliers would be taking a huge risk in Porter, had they decided to go that way.
However, the Cavaliers aren't exactly stacked with future number one's as they have peddled several around to acquire various players in attempts to bolster the roster around LeBron James.
Sometimes, you gamble on greatness and sometimes you take the lower ceiling player that is more of a sure thing.
Without the back injury, Michael Porter would have been nowhere near the Cleveland pick in the eighth position, so it would have been a risk to try to land him, but his talent might have made such a risk understandably taken.

The selection of Collin Sexton also closes the book on the Kyrie Irving trade with the Cavaliers holding three role players in Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, and Larry Nance Jr to go with Sexton as the return for Irving.
At this particular stage and despite the injury that ended last season to the oft-brittle Irving, I would still rate the Boston side as the better half of this swap, although Sexton could swing that pendulum more toward the Cleveland side.

Is Collin Sexton enough to retain LeBron James?
Could Sexton be involved in a trade to land a veteran that might be more of an immediate help?
I don't have the answers to those, but at best, the Cavaliers have made a major step forward, they could also have drafted a major piece of a possible rebuild without LeBron or at worst, they might regret not taking Michael Porter.

This just hasn't been my year with Cleveland drafts.
For the Browns, I preferred the safer and more prototypical passer in Sam Darnold and the Browns gambled on the risky hype train that is Baker Mayfield.
For the Cavaliers, I wanted them to take the big swing at the green with Michael Porter and they laid up with the more guarded selection of Collin Sexton.
It's funny to see how these things occur sometimes.
It'll be interesting to take a look back in a few years to see who had the better ideas.