Parting ways with every free agent not named Austin Reaves this summer opened up positions across the roster. Shot creation and guard threats were thin behind the backcourt, leading them to come to terms with Collin Sexton on atwo-year, $19 million deal.
He brings a dynamic scoring punch and a much-needed on-ball operator off the bench when Luka Dončić or Reaves miss any time.
Roster-building decision-makers constantly wrestle with where to invest their resources. Under a capped salary, those choices
and ramifications are even more magnified. With the money handed out, teams are letting you know which archetypes they deem replaceable.
Sexton is a 6’3, 190-pound guard whose main value is on offense. These measurables aren’t particularly sought after in the modern game, which values versatility and switching on defense with an emphasis on size one through five.
Those ideas can clash at the highest level of basketball, and fully dependent offensive players get played off the floor. Jalen Brunson of the Knicks is the extreme case of a short ball handler still bringing enormous value in winning time.
Sexton is not Brunson by any means whatsoever, but to be effective at that size, you must be efficient. You need to be able to put pressure on the rim as a playmaker while hitting off-ball shots. He fits the bill, sitting just under the elusive 50-40-90 club.
Splitting time with the Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls, Sexton averaged 15.4 points and 3.3 assists in just under 24 minutes per game. An efficient 49% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers, and 86% from the free-throw line.
The typical offensive jitterbug, Sexton leverages quick downhill speed to be an offensive engine. He’s a high-volume pick-and-roll player, with 32.5% of his possessions involving a ball screen. Those numbers are up there with both Luka (34.7%) and Reaves (35.1%), who are among the league’s leaders.
Any slip-up by the opposing screen defenders and Sexton gets to his elite first step. Watch below in semi-transition where he notices the opposing big in the wrong defensive position. A quick crossover gets him to the rim for the finish.
Sexton shows good patience at the top of the key. He’s defended by one of the best point-of-attack guards in Cason Wallace below. He methodically puts him in jail and uses the Gortat screen to finish the and-one.
He has all the passes in the toolbox you need from an on-ball guard. He reads skip passes well and a positive lob pairing with LA’s biggest add in Walker Kessler. The two played three seasons together on the Utah Jazz and over 2000 minutes on the court, bringing some instant chemistry to a new group.
Sexton is a fearless driver to the rim at over 9.5 per game and will fit right next to the star backcourt’s propensity to put pressure on the basket. It’s a huge boost to a team that lacked any guard scoring juice off the bench last season. He pairs that attack with elite efficiency, finishing 64.5% in the restricted area.
When teams switch a screen or a big naturally ends up on the guard, he’s one of the best isolation scorers by efficiency with 1.19 points per possession, placing him in the 87th percentile league-wide.
Watch below as he has one of the better switchable bigs in the league on him in Neemias Queta. After a couple of in-and-out dribbles, he gets to his spot and rises.
A concern is that the pull-up 3-point shooting is subpar for a player that handles the ball as much as he does. Sexton shot just 34% on his off-the-dribble attempts from behind the arc and 36% overall.
That said, the guard should be paired with either Luka or Reaves at all times, letting him attack compromised defenses. Sexton worked off of both LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey last season, and has turned himself into a more than useful off-ball player, hitting 44.5% of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.
The concerns, as with much of this roster, are how he fares on defense. He’s a pit bull who brings a 6’7 wingspan, quick hands, and overall effort. Following his trade to the Bulls, Sexton averaged 1.5 steals per game, leading the team.
Luka and Austin already need defensive protection, and Sexton is another player who will be picked on with his size. How the Lakers manage the lineups will be crucial, along with whether they can add another defensive backup center or forward to fill out the rotation.
At 27, Sexton continues the summer theme of getting younger at all positions. Concerns remain, as Sexton has never played in the playoffs, but he should bring instant scoring punch and playmaking to a team that desperately needs to lessen the load on its star guards.
You can follow Raj on X at @RajChipalu.
