Jazz Reportedly Hand Out Massive Extension to Collin Sexton
The details of newly-acquired Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton have emerged, and it’s a win for executive Danny Ainge.
Bobby Marks of ESPN dished out the news on Sunday.
“The Collin Sexton contract in Utah starts at $16.5M and increases 5% in each season. The last year is $18.975M. $70.95M fully guaranteed and can increase to $72.95M. Sexton has $500K in unlikely bonuses per season," Marks tweeted.
The young rising star was a key component in the Donovan Mitchell exchange and had to agree to a sign-and-trade extension to make it all happen. Sexton appeared to be in good spirits about moving to Salt Lake City with a tweet to his new fan base.
Sexton’s most productive year was in 2020-21 when he averaged 24.3 points while handing out 4.4 assists per game. Players with those stat lines usually are in line for a max contract, or close to it. The Jazz were able to get the discount due to Sexton’s history of being bitten by the injury bug.
Sexton only played in 10 games in 2021-22 due to a torn meniscus and hasn’t made it through a full season since his rookie year in 2018-19. The Jazz are betting that those days are behind him as they start their rebuild.
As the roster stands now, there’s a log jam at the point guard and shooting guard position with Mike Conley, Jared Butler, Malik Beasley, Leandro Balmaro, Ochai Agbaji, and Talen Horton-Tucker fighting for minutes. Sexton can play the one or the two and should have no problems finding his way onto the court despite the uncertainty.
On paper, it’s a victory for Ainge as Utah has struggled in bringing in young talent via free agency. The Jazz will be looking to become relevant soon, and it will be interesting to see whether any newly acquired players can emerge and take their game to an All-Star level.
Jazz fans can expect more breaking news this offseason as the team is poised to move on from some of its veterans (Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Conley) to create a path for the younger guys to develop.
Stay tuned.
Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.
