Collin Sexton traded, will unite with another former Alabama basketball star
Former Alabama basketball star Collin Sexton is heading to his third NBA franchise.
The Utah Jazz on Sunday traded Sexton and a 2030 second-round draft pick to the Charlotte Hornets for center Jusuf Nurkic. ESPN's Shams Charania was the first to report the news.
Sexton is far and away Alabama's longest active player in the NBA. He was the eighth overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, ending a 10-year drought in which no other Crimson Tide player was taken in the NBA draft. Now 26, Sexton spent the past three seasons with Utah, averaging 18-plus points per game after his career-high 24.3 with the Cavs in 2020-21.
Sexton has one year and $19 million remaining on his current contract before hitting free agency next summer. It's the second time he's been traded; the Jazz acquired him in 2022 in the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.
While at Alabama, Sexton in 2018 guided the Crimson Tide to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years. It was only Alabama's second tournament appearance since 2006.
Sexton will be joining a Charlotte team featuring 2023 No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Miller, and leading scorer LaMelo Ball. Miller played in 27 games last year after suffering a season-ending wrist injury in January. He averaged 21 points and 4.9 rebounds in 34 minutes a night for the Hornets, who finished 19-63 overall last season.
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