Collin Sexton's Bizarre Comment About Lauri Markkanen is Kind of Sad

Will Hardy's locker room culture is quite different than J.B. Bickerstaff's.

Utah Jazz point guard Collin Sexton was originally drafted No. 8 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2018. Sexton spent four seasons in Cleveland, the last of which was with Lauri Markkanen, before both landed in Utah via the Donovan Mitchell trade in the summer of 2022.  

Sexton and Markkanen only played one season in Cleveland together, but up until they were in Utah, the young point guard didn't even know that his Finnish teammate had a family. Apparently, the Cavs do things a bit differently in Cleveland. 

We learned this during Sexton's end-of-season press conference as he reflected on how the Jazz evolved throughout the 2022-23 campaign. 

"I would say pretty much just getting to know one another," Sexton said on April 11. "I feel like, even just like me getting to know Lauri —I didn’t know Lauri had a family or whatever, and kids, just because in Cleveland it was a little different."

Really, Collin? You didn't know Lauri had a family before Utah? 

“No, no, I didn’t know much at all (laughs), so it’s different—definitely different," Sexton said.  

You'd think that in the pursuit of team chemistry and cohesiveness, guys would know things like that about their teammates. Not in Cleveland, though. Sexton tried to put his finger on what's so different about Jazz team culture.

"Here, I feel like it’s more family-oriented, just because we do a lot of family activities," Sexton said. "Everyone’s wives and team girlfriends are always together and stuff like that. You can tell here is real family-oriented and I definitely like that as well."

The implications of Sexton's remarks on Cleveland's locker-room culture I'll leave for someone else to draw. But if things really are so "different" in Utah, it's worth identifying why that is. 

Utah is definitely a family-oriented state. There are a lot of young families and they tend to multiply. But it's got to be more than that because there aren't many members of the L.D.S. faith in the Jazz locker room. 

No, it's common courtesy to know and be acquainted with one's workmates. And that, I would think, becomes even more paramount in a pro sports setting when it comes to teammates with whom one sheds blood, sweat, and tears. 

It can't be all about the mercenary mindset of, 'Hey, you mind your business and I'll handle mind because I'm just here to collect a paycheck.' If that's how it was/is in Cleveland, it's because someone wants it that way. 

So credit to Jazz head coach Will Hardy, who did a tremendous job to cultivate a cohesive locker room culture and establish bonds of friendship among the players and coaches. That bond does come out in the wash when it comes to game time. 

The Jazz made the culture family-oriented with, as Sexton said, "a lot of family activities." Hardy made it a point to emphasize family with his team. 

Sexton had a good first year in Utah before the injury bug claimed what remained of the season from the All-Star break on. In the wake of Mike Conley getting traded, Sexton became Utah's starting point guard and then that hamstring injury flared up. 

Sexton finished the season with a 14.3 points-per-game average, which is a career-low, but almost certainly would have been much greater than that had he not gotten hurt. He offers starting-caliber play at point guard, but he might be a player best served coming off the bench because of his energetic change of pace and ability to create his own offense. 

However, Sexton's injury propensity is a concern moving forward. He suffered a torn meniscus in his last year in Cleveland little more than a month into the season, so he went a while without playing ball. 

Sexton's first year in Utah helped revitalize his love for the game, even though it ended much the same way as his last year in Cleveland. 

"Just to get the love of the game again," Sexton reflected on his 2022-23 season. "I feel like it’s just one of those things where it’s like, ‘Okay, it feels good to feel healthy again and, just to pretty much feel great.'"

With Sexton riding the pine down the stretch, Talen Horton-Tucker emerged as a dynamic point guard for the Jazz and he's going to focus on that position this summer during the offseason. If 'THT' exercises the player option on his contract, he'll almost certainly start at point guard next season, which would relegate Sexton to the bench. 

If THT declines his player option, and the Jazz fail to re-sign him, Sexton's outlook as a starter next season would become more clear. Stay tuned. 

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