The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised the fourth-year (2021-22) contract option on Collin Sexton and the third-year (2021-22) options on Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler, Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Sexton (6-1, 192) started in all 65 games for Cleveland last season, averaging a team-best 20.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 33.0 minutes. He joined LeBron James and Kyrie Irving as the only Cavaliers to ever average 20.0 points in a season before the age of 22. Sexton also had the third-highest scoring average among second-year players in 2019-20, behind only Trae Young (29.6) and Luka Doncic (28.8), and was one of just two Eastern Conference players last season (six in NBA) who averaged at least 20.0 points with a .470 mark from the field and a .840 clip from the foul line (Khris Middleton). Sexton closed out the season with a career-high five straight games with 25 points or more, becoming just the third Cavalier ever to have such a streak in his first or second season (LeBron James, Ron Harper). Drafted as the No. 8 pick by Cleveland in the 2018 NBA Draft, Sexton has appeared in every game of his NBA career so far (147 games), the longest streak by a player who started their career with the team since Andre Miller, who played his first 185 contests (11/2/99 to 12/11/01). Sexton has more career double-digit scoring performances than any player from the 2018 NBA Draft class (135) and owns career averages of 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 32.3 minutes.
Garland (6-1, 186), the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was the only NBA rookie in 2019-20 with at least 700 points, 225 assists and 100 three-pointers. Over his 59 appearances (all starts) last season, Garland averaged 12.3 points and 3.9 assists in 30.9 minutes. He ranked second among all rookies in assists per game, behind only Memphis guard Ja Morant. His 105 three-pointers were the second-most by a rookie in franchise history behind Collin Sexton (2018-19, 119), and he reached double figures in scoring 43 times. Garland also finished in the Top 10 among all NBA rookies in minutes per game (third), three-pointers made (sixth), three-point percentage (sixth) and points per game (eighth). In addition, he had 10 straight outings with at least four assists from Jan. 27-Feb. 24, the longest by a Cavs rookie since Kyrie Irving’s franchise-rookie record tying 18 straight in 2012 (2/29/12-4/18/12).
Porter Jr. (6-4, 203) played in 50 games (three starts) with the Cavaliers last season, averaging 10.0 points (12th among rookies), 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists (7th among rookies) and 0.92 steals (4th among rookies) in 23.2 minutes. He was the only rookie in the NBA averaging at least 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in under 24.0 minutes in 2019-20. In a win over Miami on Feb. 24, Porter Jr. became just the third rookie in franchise history to record at least 30 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a single game, joining LeBron James (twice in 2003-04) and Ron Harper (once in 1986-87). Porter Jr., the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by Milwaukee, was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade with Detroit on June 26, 2019.
Windler (6-6, 199), who missed the entire 2019-20 regular season due to a left lower leg stress reaction, was the No. 26 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers after a four-year career at Belmont. In 128 games (97 starts) over his collegiate career, he averaged 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 29.4 minutes, while also shooting .541 from the field, .406 from three-point range and .763 from the foul line. Windler was one of four players to record 1,600 career points and 1,000 rebounds in Ohio Valley Conference history dating back to 1971.
