INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Collin Sexton tossed on his Cleveland Cavaliers gear -- a new wine-colored hat -- for the first time on June 21 and was immediately asked to make a pitch for LeBron James to stay in Cleveland.

A little more than a week later, James was gone.

Sexton made his NBA regular season debut with the Cavaliers on Oct. 17 in Toronto. His head coach was Tyronn Lue, the man who had built a strong bond with the Sexton family, helped guide Sexton through his college recruitment and was expected to do the same in the NBA.

Nearly two weeks later, Lue was gone. Fired by general manager Koby Altman following a horrific 0-6 start to the season on Sunday morning.

Welcome to the NBA, kid. Or, more appropriately, welcome to Cleveland.

"He's getting a lesson in the NBA very, very fast," Altman said on Monday. "But listen, this is part of it. It's part of the business. He has to roll with it. This is a kid that has incredible work ethic. Shows up every day and works. He controls what he can control and that's a lesson that someone taught him very early on. He keeps his attitude, keeps his work ethic and it's the same guy every day.

"We're obviously excited to see how it unfolds for him this year and we're just excited to see him get better game after game."

But imagine being Sexton. He's 19 years old. Trying to find his way in a league filled with stars, legends and giants. The competition never rests. The grind never ends.

In his debut, he was matched up against All-Star Kyle Lowry and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Fred VanVleet. The next night came Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose. In Cleveland's most recent loss, the last of the Lue era, Sexton was opposed by All-Star Victor Oladipo and veteran lead guards Darren Collison and Cory Joseph.

Sexton's seeing new cities for the first time. He's learning how to deal with the cameras and media throng crowded around his locker every night -- reflecting on good performances and poor ones while at times still not being over the sting of a loss. His game is being picked apart by opponents, fans and analysts.

He's shooting to many mid-range jumpers. He's statistically one of the least efficient offensive players in the NBA. The Cavs should've drafted Kevin Knox or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Why didn't Cleveland trade up for Trae Young or Luka Doncic?

As if all of that wasn't tough enough, Sexton has been thrust smack dab in the middle of Cleveland's customary chaos -- without the only NBA head coach he had known, the guy he has leaned on since high school.

Lue's firing wasn't easy on champions JR Smith, Channing Frye, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Larry Drew, and NBA lifer and the new "voice" of the team, got emotional over it. Just imagine how tough it was for Sexton.

"Nobody envisioned it like this," Sexton said. "We try to come in and win games but we started off with a rough start. We just gotta pick it up."

The Cavs' heinous 0-6 record might actually be the easy part for Sexton. Losses happen in the NBA, especially an organization that's now without the NBA's best player. Everyone has to learn how to deal with defeat. Everyone has their own method. That's part of the gig.

But for Sexton, he's getting an early crash course on the real NBA, the dark side of the league. Teammates come and go. Coaches are commodities. Fans love you until they don't. There's pressure, stress and frustration. In his case, everything is moving so fast and there's been no time to come up for air.

On Sunday, when Lue's future was revealed, players were surprised. Sexton included.

Given that it's first time dealing with something of this magnitude, he leaned on his teammates for guidance.

"They just said, 'Things happen, but we've got to control what we can control and that's what's on the basketball court,'" Sexton said of their message.

Soon, Sexton will learn Love's fate. The All-Star power forward and team leader in points and rebounds has been dealing with significant pain in his left foot that has kept him out of the last two losses. The pain has lingered since early October, when Love was shut down for the final three preseason games before attempting to gut through it during the regular season. It became too much and he's been seeking second opinions and alternate options.

With Love expected to be sidelined for an extended period, that puts even more pressure on Sexton. No, it's not on him to shoulder that burden alone. It's too early to demand that. As Larry Nance Jr. said, no one in Cleveland's locker room can replace Love -- a walking double-double who commands a defense's full attention.

Just more disarray.

"We gotta pick up his load just because he brings so much to the game and so much to our team," Sexton said. "We just gotta make sure we step up and fill those shoes."

In a way, Lue's exile ties directly to the youngster. Altman felt the organization, which has put a premium on player development, needed to go a different direction. They needed a new voice, someone who is a better fit for this young group. The front office lost faith that Lue was the coach to oversee the development of this foundation -- with Sexton as the primary building block.

So in his first few weeks as an NBA player, Sexton has yet to experience a win. Heck, he's never felt what it's like to hold a lead in the second half of a game. He has played inside famed TD Garden. Been torched by fellow rookie Young and called out by his old coach for abandoning the defensive game plan in favor of a personal battle. He was at the center of tension between Dan Gilbert, Altman and Lue about roles and playing time. He watched his first coach get fired.

And yet, through all the tumult, Sexton is still finding a way to replace what should be a scowl with a grin. He's still finding joy in the journey.

"They've been pretty fun as well as a learning experience," Sexton said of the first few weeks. "I felt like coach Ty Lue, he helped me a whole lot, so, the things that he helped me with, I'm just going to continue to grow."