A handful of anonymous NBA scouts recently spoke with Sports Illustrated reporter Chris Mannix and offered inside looks and unusual opinions on each of the league’s franchises.
When it was the Cleveland Cavaliers’ time, one scout talked about Collin Sexton and his personality, highlighting that he wouldn’t get along the best with the rest of his teammates on the unit.
“I think Collin Sexton is a backup and an a**hole. None of his teammates like him. I like (Darius) Garland. I actually like Garland. I think he plays hard. He puts pressure on you because he can shoot, he can pass, and he’s a much more willing passer. He’s not out there trying to f**k get his stats and go home in the same way that Sexton is. I don’t think they can play those two small guards together and get a ton out of them.”
Who quickly came out to deny the claim was Sexton’s teammate, Larry Nance, who not only shares a locker room with Collin but also did so in the past with Kobe, another personality who took a lot of criticism at the time for his way of being.
Whoever said this is a moron with zero knowledge of anything going on in Cleveland. I’d hide behind anonymity too if I was this bad at my job https://t.co/0QoeHnqrah
— Larry Nance (@Larrydn22) October 15, 2021
“Whoever said this is a moron with zero knowledge of anything going on in Cleveland. I’d hide behind anonymity too if I was this bad at my job.”
The 8th overall pick of the 2018 Draft arrived in Cleveland with a heavy backpack that no one would want to carry, being the young man who will have to make forget LeBron James’ successful stint with the team after winning the championship with the franchise in 2016, two years before the point guard’s arrival in the state of Ohio.
Unfortunately, Sexton still couldn’t translate his strong individual performance into collective success and the Cavaliers continue to sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, failing to qualify for the playoffs since LeBron’s departure.
Since Sexton arrived, Cleveland barely managed to win on 56 occasions and lost on 151, leaving a winning percentage of just 27.1% that doesn’t look like it will change in the medium term, until young talents like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley develop alongside Collin’s.
No player by himself can be blamed for the performance of a team but something has to change and, hopefully, eventually the Cavaliers will return to being that consistent threat in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, despite the trade rumors, Collin’s consolation is that he increased his season-to-season performance, going from averaging 16.7 points in his rookie year to 24.3 in the 2021/22 campaign while starting all 60 games he played for Cleveland last season.
