Cavaliers select Alabama’s Sexton with No. 8 pick
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) The Cavaliers selected a point guard and pitch man.
Moments after the team selected Collin Sexton with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, the Alabama playmaker made his appeal for LeBron James to re-sign with Cleveland.
''Man, LeBron, let's do it,'' Sexton said during ESPN's telecast from the draft in Brooklyn. ''Let's do it. I've seen you needed a few extra pieces this past season, and let's do it. Let's go back to the Finals.''
The Cavs believe Sexton - and perhaps a few more tweaks to their roster - will help convince James there is no reason for him to leave home for the second time in his career.
''I hope,'' said general manager Koby Altman, adding the club has no plans to trade Sexton. ''I think the pick along with our youth and our momentum as a franchise, for LeBron and for everybody, I think there's a real energy here. And I think the talent level of Collin I'm almost sure LeBron recognizes.''
Sexton averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 assists as a freshman for the Crimson Tide, and the 19-year-old also led the school to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. He's confident, a proven scorer and he addresses a major need for the Cavs, who traded All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to Boston last year and spent all season trying to replace him.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue started eight different point guards during the regular season.
Despite their issues at guard, James led the Cavs to their fourth straight Finals, but they sorely missed Irving and didn't have nearly enough firepower to hang with the Golden State Warriors, who swept them and won their third title in four years.
Cleveland used the pick to draft Sexton - previously owned by Brooklyn - that it received from the Celtics in the Irving trade.
The Cavs' front office led by Altman entered the draft in the dark on James' plans. The three-time champion must notify the team by June 29 on whether he intends to opt out of his $35.6 million contract for next season - a move he is expected to make.
Altman said he has had ''really good dialogue'' with James' management team.
''LeBron has more than earned the right to approach his contracts the way he does,'' Altman said. ''He's done that before, so this is nothing new for us. We want to respect his space during this process. We don't take him for granted. We love him, this city loves him. He means the world to us and this franchise.''
Sexton has been on Cleveland's radar for some time. The Cavs scouted him throughout the season, and the day after they lost Game 4 in the Finals, Sexton worked out at the team's facility and owner Dan Gilbert referred to him as a ''very intriguing draft prospect'' on Twitter.
''Loved the substance and character that he was about, and then he came here and had an unbelievable workout,'' Altman said. ''And what was really encouraging about the workout is he actually shot it a lot better. It looked more pure, looked more natural, and his work ethic I know is going to be even better. I don't want to put too much into the workout, but it helped. And then you feel people, like, you feel them. You're going to feel this kid.''
While Sexton certainly improves the Cavs' backcourt and adds a young player capable of breaking down defenders, there is no guarantee it will do anything to impact what James will do.
In the meantime, Sexton has his fingers crossed that he and James will soon be teammates.
''He's one of the best players to ever play basketball,'' Sexton said. ''Just being able to come in and learn from him, it'll be big for me and big for my growth.''
James will factor family and his quest to win more championships into his decision. The 33-year-old has been unusually quiet on social media since the Finals ended, and he has given no hints about his future.
If James doesn't stay in Cleveland, there's a strong chance he'll look to join the Los Angeles Lakers, who have salary-cap room to sign two maximum contract players. James already owns two homes and a film production company in Southern California.
Based on his wardrobe for the draft, Sexton may have had an inkling Cleveland was going to take him. He wore a crimson-and-black tuxedo jacket that perfectly complemented the wine-colored Cavs cap he was given before taking the stage to shake hands with Commissioner Adam Silver.
Sexton burst on the national scene last season with several strong performances, including a 40-point game against Minnesota when Alabama had to play 10 minutes with just three players because of disqualifications.
He went on to be named the SEC's top newcomer and a first-team all-conference selection.
''It just shows all my hard work paid off,'' Sexton said. ''I just grinded, started from the bottom and came back up to the top. That was the biggest thing, just show people what I can do.''
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