{"id":169403,"date":"2018-07-05T02:10:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T06:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=169403"},"modified":"2018-07-05T02:10:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T06:10:18","slug":"cavs-sign-top-pick-collin-sexton-to-rookie-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/07\/05\/cavs-sign-top-pick-collin-sexton-to-rookie-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs sign top pick Collin Sexton to rookie contract"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"For<\/a>
For now, Sexton will have to settle for a four-year contract that could be worth $20.2 million over its length. (Photo<\/a> by Astro & Company via Collin ‘Young Bull’ Sexton\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0Collin\u00a0Sexton badly wanted to play with LeBron James. His first season will be much different than he hoped.<\/p>\n

Sexton signed his rookie contract on Wednesday with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are taking their first steps since James announced he’s leaving to sign a four-year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

When the Cavs drafted Sexton with the No. 8 pick last month, the Alabama guard instantly pleaded with James to re-sign with the Cavs.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeBron, let’s do it,\u201d Sexton said in a TV interview moments after he was picked. \u201cI’ve seen you needed a few extra pieces this past season, and let’s do it. Let’s go back to the Finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Sexton will have to settle for a four-year contract that could be worth $20.2 million over its length. Per NBA rules, Sexton can make a maximum of $4.1 million next season. The value is based on where he was selected. His contract is guaranteed for two years, with the Cavs holding options for the last two years.<\/p>\n

Cleveland made the announcement on Wednesday, a holiday treat for the team’s fans still grappling with their emotions after James left for the second time in eight years. On Tuesday, the giant billboard of James that become a downtown landmark, and to some a symbol of the city’s rebirth, was removed.<\/p>\n

The team is hoping Sexton can help them recover from losing James, who led the Cavs to four straight NBA Finals and a championship in 2016. Sexton averaged 19.2 points as a freshman and played his best in big games, leading the Crimson Tide to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.<\/p>\n

Now that he’s under contract, the 19-year-old can’t be traded for 30 days. However, the Cavs are likely to hang on to Sexton after they spent all last season in need of a point guard after trading All-Star Kyrie Irving last summer to Boston.<\/p>\n

Sexton will wear No. 2, Irving’s jersey number with Cleveland.<\/p>\n

Sexton is on Cleveland’s summer league roster and is expected to play in games in Las Vegas later this week.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0Collin\u00a0Sexton badly wanted to play with LeBron James. His first season will be much different than he hoped. Sexton …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":169409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[5949,52736],"class_list":["post-169403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-collin-sexton","mauthors-tom-withers","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}