According to one NBA scout, Collin Sexton is the next De’Aron Fox.
While an NBA scout spoke to Bleacher Report regarding the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future, the one bright piece he noted was none other than the No. 8 overall pick. This is what the scout had to say about the 19-year-old rookie point guard:
“Sexton is their point guard of the future,” the scout told Swartz. “He’s a piece. They’ve at least got the 1 and 4 positions locked down. With him just being a freshman coming out of Alabama, it’s going to take him a few years. I like him a lot, though. He’s going to be thrown into the fire early. I think he’ll come along quicker than the typical draft pick because I see him playing a lot of minutes.
“I like him, but Sexton’s not ready [to lead a postseason team like Donovan Mitchell], and he won’t do that. I see him more like a De‘Aaron Fox. Fox struggled, but you saw brilliance there at times. It’s going to be the same with [Sexton].”
This is a good and a bad comparison. Fox was probably the most highly-hyped rookie entering last season, with scouts absolutely adoring his toughness and competitiveness. While Fox had a nice summer league run, he crashed hard during his rookie campaign. He had highs and lows as he finished the season with 11.6 points and 4.4 assists per game in 73 appearances and 60 starts for the Kings on 41.2 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite all of the hype entering his rookie campaign, Fox didn’t even get a single vote for Rookie of the Year voting.
On the other hand, Sexton looks to be in a better situation than Fox. While Cleveland no longer has LeBron James, they still have the same core that advanced to the NBA Finals last season. Sexton was named to the First Team Summer League squad in July after averaging 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Furthermore, Sexton is being praised for his maturity. When asked regarding how he reacted to the departure of LeBron James, the University of Alabama product responded as a poised veteran would:
“Nothing,” Sexton said, according to ESPN. “I just understood it was time for me and my teammates to step up. Make sure we’re all good and then continue to work hard and get better.”
Despite the potential of Sexton, ESPN believes the Cavaliers will be just a 31-win team this season. A far drop-off from their 50 wins last season:
“We see the LeBron Effect out West, with the Lakers projected to vault to a playoff team this season. Well, here’s the other side of the coin: The Cavaliers dropped from a projected 52 wins last season to 31 this year. Kevin Love faces an uphill battle to keep the Cavaliers in contention.”
Regardless of where the Cavs finish in the Eastern Conference standings, Sexton should have one heck of an individual rookie campaign.
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