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
Pat O'Donnell Jersey , 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
Jack Youngblood Jersey , 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
Deion Sanders Jersey , 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.”
—
Jermaine Kearse was far from pleased last week when he heard the details of the NFL’s new policy on the national anthem.
The veteran wide receiver and his New York Jets teammates couldn’t be happier, though, to have the full support of acting owner Christopher
Johnson.
”For me personally, I’m very appreciative of him,” Kearse said after practice Tuesday. ”I think he kind of gets it.”
NFL owners voted last Wednesday to require players to stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room. Teams will be fined if players don’t stand. Some
players have been kneeling during the playing of ”The Star-Spangled Banner”
before games the last two seasons to protest police brutality and racial
inequality.
”Honestly, I’m disappointed,” Kearse said. ”I think they’re kind of missing the point. For us as a team, I think if you’ve paid attention, nobody on our
team kneeled, but that doesn’t mean we don’t support the causes of why people
are kneeling.”
Johnson said shortly after the league announced the policy that he will not punish his players for any peaceful protests – and would pay any potential fines
incurred by the team as a result of his players’ actions.
”To me
Shaq Lawson Jersey , honestly, the conversation about whether players are kneeling or not, I felt like that conversation was dying and it didn’t get
brought up until they decided to make the rules,” Kearse said. ”So, I think
we’re kind of getting away from the actual cause. I think we’re starting to
focus on the kneeling part rather than the cause behind it.
”I wish they would be more like Chris, to be quite honest, and support the players and actively be involved and have those conversations with their
players.”
Added coach Todd Bowles: ”It’s always nice to have the owner have your back. It’s about the issues for us. We didn’t have a problem a year ago. We’ll
continue to talk as a group, as a team and as an organization, and go forward
from there.”
Left tackle Kelvin Beachum echoed Kearse’s sentiments about the NFL’s new policy. Beachum and quarterback Josh McCown are part of the Players Coalition,
an advocacy group of NFL players that has had discussions with league owners on
social matters.
”It is disappointing, but it is what it is at this point,” Beachum said. ”We’ve been talking about this issue for a number of years and the league
finally made a decision. We’re going to still continue to do the work. Our owner
supports us in doing that work and he’s with us as we’re doing that work. So
we’re not going to keep talking this game and keep talking about the anthem.
We’re actually going to do something about it and go find a solution.”
Johnson met with the entire team last week and explained to the players why he voted in favor of the new NFL rule – only San Francisco’s Jed York abstained
– while also assuring them they would not be punished by the team if they did
not adhere to the league’s policy.
”He’s very supportive of us,” Kearse said. ”I mean, whether guys choose to or not, he supports our decision – their decision – but like I said, nobody last
year kneeled. The fact that he’ll support us any way he can is a very gratifying
feeling.”
Johnson took over the day-to-day operations of the team last June from his brother Woody
Marvin Harrison Jersey , who is serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump frequently has
been critical of players who have protested during the anthem, so it would
appear a tough spot for the younger Johnson while balancing business, politics
and family.
But Christopher Johnson immediately earned his players’ respect last year when he went up to each one in the Jets’ locker room before the team’s home
opener against Miami in September and asked if he could stand with them in
unity.
Johnson, the players and the coaches stood – arms locked – on the sideline before every remaining game. Several players pointed to the owner’s actions as
playing a large role in establishing cohesiveness on a team that stuck together
despite a 5-11 record.
But Johnson’s latest stance has become a polarizing issue with some Jets fans and even politicians saying the owner’s support of a player potentially
protesting during the anthem is misguided.
”It’s great that he stuck his neck out there,” linebacker Darron Lee said, ”because I know a lot of people feel passionate about that.”
New York Rep. Pete King wrote on Twitter on Saturday that it was ”disgraceful” that Johnson would pay fines for players who would kneel during
the anthem. King added that Johnson’s decision was ”encouraging a movement
premised on lies vs. police.”
”Would he support all player protests?” King continued. ”Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism? It’s time to say goodbye to
Jets!”
The Jets have not decided what they will do this year during the national anthem, but Lee said if he had to take ”an educated guess,” he thinks the team
will lock arms again. Beachum and Kearse stressed that unity is the top priority
with the Jets.
”I think it’s very important that no matter what we do, that we do it together,” Kearse said. ”We’re a locker room with different personalities,
different thoughts, so not everybody thinks the same. Whatever we choose to do,
if we can do it collectively,
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