Collin Sexton has been named among the players the Utah Jazz will put on the trade market this summer. Whether he'll be on the team next year is up in the air, but the Desmond Bane trade crosses the Orlando Magic off potential Sexton destinations. That's a shame because he would have been perfect there.
The Magic desperately needed a scorer. Outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, their sources of offense were pretty limited. In Bane, they get a more than capable third banana with playoff experience, and, as an a bonus, Bane definitely will not compromise that elite defense.
Props to Orlando for going for the player that both fixes a problem and fits splendedly in the role they will give him for next season, but there's a strong case that had they not done this, the Jazz could have gotten a pretty good return for Sexton from the boys over at Disneyworld than anyone else.
Sexton is an elite scorer who is efficient at what he does. As a complementary scorer, he would have been the scoring guard that Orlando desperately needed. In real time, it would have been interesting to see whether opponents would have seen him as an Achilles heel of the Magic's airtight defense, but now they don't have to wonder about that.
Sexton would have been a perfect fit as their third best scorer, but Bane is a perfect fit as their third best player so to speak. Now, the Jazz will have to look elsewhere to trade Sexton if the plan is to get rid of him.
So where could Sexton go next?
The Magic were the best team for Sexton because they were a playoff team that desperately needed a scorer to make some legitimate noise in the playoffs. Instead, the Magic got, all in all, a better player. That leaves the Jazz wondering where they could send Sexton.
There isn't really a team that desperately needed Sexton like the Magic did before today. However, there are teams looking to save money and could give the Jazz some productive players in exchange for Sexton, but it would likely come at the cost of adding additional money to the payroll.
A team like the Boston Celtics is looking to cut costs, and Utah has some team-friendly deals that could help Boston save money. Sexton would allow them that while still being a good team. Players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are expensive, but on paper, they would help the Jazz.
Another team like Miami could use an upgrade in their backcourt. Terry Rozier has been a disaster in South Beach, so the Heat may be willing to give up an asset to take a better, younger, and cheaper player in Sexton for him.
The Milwaukee Bucks appear to be keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo next season. Great for them, but the elephant in the room is Damian Lillard likely being out for the season. They only have one first-round pick in their arsenal, but it could be a golden asset in 2031. Sexton and others could help them with their problems.
There's also the option that Utah will keep Sexton. While that's certainly possible, if they draft a guard with the No. 5 pick, that could pose a problem. It's uncertain if a Sexton trade is inevitable, but it is a shame that the best destination was taken away before Utah could really get serious about it.