From Distance: Buzz-kill Alert

four point play….

1. After watching dispirited regular season game after dispirited game over the course of the 2017-2018 NBA season, it is of little surprise that Koby Altman selected a young guard with maniacal energy. The Cavs number eight pick, Collin Sexton, doesn’t take plays off, bounces around with heart, and doesn’t back down even when his team has no real shot to win.

I won’t even bother linking to his three versus five Herculean effort against Minnesota. You have already seen it a few times, I’m sure.

What I will do is ask a few questions:

How much would Jordan Clarkson love to play three-on-five?

What evidence do we have that Sexton plays defense more like Patrick Beverley than Clarkson? 

Who reminds you more of Russell Westbrook-lite when he barrels to the rim, Sexton or Clarkson? 

Now, we all know I really don’t enjoy watching Jordan Clarkson play basketball. While some of our fine writers have gone back and forth on Clarkson’s potential, I have steadfastly considered him a hopeless chucker with low basketball IQ.

That is why I am worried about the Cavaliers’ new addition. There is no arguing Sexton’s tenacity or fearless nature. He has good length and is a plus athlete. Sexton knows how to get his body into defenders in order to get off his various floaters in the lane.

Defensively, he hops around without shuffling his feet properly, has a tendency to play behind Pick and Roll action in a late trail position, and gambles in passing lanes.

Who does that sound like?

Of course this will all come down to basketball IQ. If Sexton is to be successful in the NBA, it will be because he fully internalizes NBA defensive principles in a way that has eluded Jordan Clarkson.

The Young Bull will need to learn to harness his enthusiasm in order to make the right basketball play on both sides of the floor, possession by possession.

Look: Russell Westbrook is super talented. Yet, his teams frequently under perform because of his style.

Jordan Clarkson is quite talented. Yet, his teams frequently fall apart because of his style and careless play.

Collin Sexton is smaller, not as good of a shooter, doesn’t have a high steal rate for someone that is supposedly a defensive menace, can’t get all the way to the rim against a half-court defense, and isn’t a gifted passer.

Basically, the Cavs’ effort has been so awful over the last couple years, that a talented guy with only above average talent seems like a superhero solely because he actually cares.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t necessarily think Sexton won’t be a successful NBA player. I simply think he has benefited from the situation at hand. His main competition in this draft came in the form of Trae Young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpgmU-1nJjI

After countless articles and videos comparing Sexton to Young, one comes away with somewhat reductive information:

Young is a great shooter, but not particularly athletic, and Sexton is a great scorer, but not a particularly good shooter.

Somehow all of Young’s weaknesses began to be attributed to Sexton as strengths. Sexton is a more powerful and a longer athlete than Young. He is a better defender both on and off ball.

But does that mean that Sexton is an outstanding athlete and defender? No. It just means he is better than Young in those areas.

Sexton was successful in the PnR while at Alabama. If he continues to hone his game, it is conceivable that he will become a better finisher around the rim. Some work regarding his gather technique could help him get all the way to the cup more frequently.

He will need to. In college, Sexton relied too much on his superior strength to knock guys off balance on his way to an assortment of mid-range jumpers/floaters. Ya know, as we call them in the NBA, “garbage shots”.

They are shots one needs to have in the arsenal, but they can’t be the staple of your game. In college, they were Collin’s life blood. If he were a true lockdown defender and/or catch and shoot player, I might not mind. As the lead guard of a playoff team? I’m less than enthused.

2. Will he even play for the Cavs? Now that the draft in over, we are firmly in the worst time of the year. For the next week and change, there is nothing to do but hope. I don’t think Sexton does anything to encourage LeBron James to stay in Cleveland. It probably doesn’t affect LeBron’s decision either way, but there may have been some trade options that are no longer on the table.

That being said, Cleveland had plenty of time to cheer for Summer League Andrew Wiggins before he was ultimately traded for Kevin Love. There is still a huge possibility that Sexton will be included in any potential deal if James stays in Cleveland.

If that is the case, the Cavs might be smart to wait until Summer League. If James signs a new deal, then the Cavs might be able to use Summer League as a fluffer for Sexton’s NBA potential. If there is anything I am sure of, it is that Collin Sexton is going to dominate Summer League.

Players that are crazy competitive customarily turn the Summer League into their own personal playgrounds. If Sexton goes straight Donovan Mitchell on us, it will give the Cavs more opportunity to land a star via trade (while that name is out there, no, I don’t think Sexton has Mitchell regular season potential).

Only a few more weeks of speculation before things are in order. We’ll get through it.

3. In other news, it’s very hard to see why Luka Doncic was essentially passed over by four teams. On one hand, it is conceivable that Suns coach, Igor Kokoskov knows more about the young Slovenian than anyone else. One would think that if Doncic were as good as he seems to be, his National Team coach would tell management that Doncic has to be the pick.

Then again, familiarity breeds contempt. Kokoskov might be hesitant to pass up his first NBA head coaching gig simply to die on Doncic island. Owner Robert Sarver is an Arizona alum. Kokoskov would have had to fight ownership to pass on Deandre Ayton.

Vlade Divac certainly still has connections with the basketball community in former Yugoslavia to have high intel on the young Euroleague MVP. Why didn’t he go with Luka?

Perhaps Divac is skeptical of Doncic’s talent level for reasons beyond basketball. Or Doncic just doesn’t fit into what Vlade thinks of as a Superteam! Golly. Who knows with the Kings.

In any case, I’m thrilled that Luka Doncic will get an opportunity to play for one of the best coaches in the NBA. I can’t wait to see what Rick Carlisle does with Dennis Smith Jr. and Doncic.

Obviously, Dallas is already used to having a basketball star from Europe. It really couldn’t have broken better for the young man. Hey, old man Dirk might actually get a few open shots this season!

I expect the Mavs to push for the playoffs. Doncic is that good. It will be interesting to see whether they bother Luka with Summer League. If I’m Dallas, I give him a break. It’s not like he needs to use the summer as practice for playing as a pro. He’s already the European MVP of everything.

4. Watching Michael Porter Jr. fall all the way to number 14 was rather strange. I figured at the absolute latest, someone would grab Porter Jr. with the 12th or 13th pick in a deal with the Clips.

Instead, the Nuggets might have just lucked their way into a dynasty. Yes, if the injury concerns weren’t a major red flag, MPJ would have gone earlier. Clearly, the worry is legitimate enough for the league to collectively sit on its hands while Porter tumbled almost completely out of the lottery.

Yet, if Nikola Jokic and a blossoming Jamal Murray hang around long enough for Porter to get healthy and flourish, the Nuggets could be in incredible shape. Denver barely missed out on the playoffs last season. Somehow, they just selected a guy that could be the second best player in this class when all is said and done (I still have Doncic ahead).

Denver won’t celebrate too hard until Porter Jr shows what he can do on the floor, but the ceiling of this team has been raised quite a few stories.

Quickies: 

Danny Ainge got an athletic rim-running big with huge upside in Robert Williams. That’s annoying.

I love the Bucks’ pick of Donte DiVincenzo. That kid can shoot, comes up big in big games, is incredibly athletic, and works hard off ball. He is a perfect compliment for what they already have.

Had I gone really hard this year into pre-draft scouting, I would have fallen for Jacob Evans. I’m glad I didn’t. I didn’t know much about the guy until the Warriors selected him at 28. Well, since then, I checked him out. Watched some film. Got sad. Turned off film.

Since I was already sad, I tried to imagine Mohamed Bamba’s rookie year on the Magic. Poor guy. There actually are some pieces on that Magic’s roster. They just don’t combine to make a modicum of sense as a depth chart.

With no player moves during the draft, we are likely to see a slew of deals after free agency opens. The fun is only starting. Or misery. We shall see.