It would take some time before NBA teams know for sure whether they made the right calls in last month’s NBA Draft. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, that means they will have to wait a little longer to vindicate their resistance to participate in what could have been one of the biggest surprises in the draft.
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Atlanta Hawks attempted to trade down by offering the Cavs their No. 3 pick and shooting guard Kent Bazemore.
A source said the Cavs were offered on draft night the chance to trade up to No. 3 with the Hawks in a deal that would’ve sent Kent Bazemore to Cleveland. Instead, Atlanta swapped spots with No. 5 Dallas, and the Mavericks ended up with Luka Doncic while the Hawks landed Trae Young.
With the Cavs rebuffing Atlanta’s bait, the Hawks instead engaged the Dallas Mavericks in a deal that landed them Trae Young and handed the Mavs the rights to European phenom Luka Doncic.
It’s a bold move on the Cavs to decline a tasty offer, but they also probably did not want to swallow Bazemore’s contract that will expire two years from now and carries a value of over $37 million.
So far, the Cavs are seemingly not regretting their decision, based on how Sexton is balling so far in the Summer League. Just this Wednesday, Sexton put up 25 points in 25 minutes to lead the Cavs to a 96-84 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Vardon adds:
Cleveland wanted Sexton and held firm at No. 8. Again, it’s very, very, very early, but the Cavs have every reason to be pleased with their pick. No one drafted ahead of Sexton is averaging more points per game in Vegas than him.