Basketball Sessions, Wolves agree on offer sheet

[GotGibson?]

The waiting and wondering is finally over for restricted free agent Ramon Sessions, who agreed Friday to sign a four-year, $16 million offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

A source said that the paperwork on the deal was being processed Friday morning. After Sessions signs, the Milwaukee Bucks will have seven days to match the offer, which they are not expected to do.

Sessions' name had been linked with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers throughout the summer. But New York was unwilling to guarantee more than one year -- which would tie up the Knicks' coveted cap space for the summer of 2010 free-agent market. And Los Angeles made a trade last month with Minnesota to acquire Sebastian Telfair as the backup to Baron Davis.

In Minneapolis, Sessions would compete for minutes with rookie Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, the sixth pick of the draft who was elevated to No. 1 on the Wolves' point guard depth chart after efforts to acquire Ricky Rubio's rights from the Spanish club DKV Joventut failed earlier this week.

That put the Timberwolves in the position of scrambling to find another playmaker, and the 23-year-old Sessions was the best option on the free-agent market after he and his agent, James "Chubby" Wells, decided weeks ago to hold off on committing to the Knicks in the hope a new opportunity would arise.

Unclear, though, is how the addition of Sessions for at least the next three seasons would impact Rubio's status with Minnesota.

The Wolves have been adamant that they will wait two years for Rubio if necessary. But Rubio's decision to stay in his native country when perennial Spanish club power Barcelona offered to pay his entire $5 million buyout with DJK Joventut, coupled with Sessions' looming arrival, only figures to encourage teams interested in Rubio -- such as the Knicks -- to try to pry him away from Minnesota via trade.

Matching the offer to Sessions, whose deal includes a player option for the fourth season, would put the Bucks over the luxury tax threshold, making it extremely unlikely the two-year veteran will return to Milwaukee.

Sessions averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists last season for the Bucks.

 

[mvpjordan23]

Thats a decent pick up but whats that give them now 22 or 23 point guards? lol it seemed like thats all they chose in the draft

 

[ozballer23]

Flynn was their only pg since they moved telfair, foye and rubio isn't really looking like being part of the team any time soon. They needed a veteren presense, and sessions is a great fit.

 

[mvpjordan23]

Gotchya in my opinion Rubio shouldnt be allowed back, I thought that was some crap

 

[GotGibson?]

Bucks don't match Wolves' offer for Sessions

The Bucks have not matched the four-year, $16.4 million offer sheet restricted free agent Ramon Sessions received earlier this month from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"We are not going to match the Ramon Sessions offer sheet," Hammond told said on Friday. "As always we will be diligent in looking to improve our roster. We wish Ramon the very best."

The Bucks had until 5 p.m. Friday to decide whether to match the offer, but their attempts over the past few days to find a salary-shedding trade to create sufficient wiggle room beneath the $69.9 million luxury-tax line to keep Sessions proved unsuccessful.

Matching on Sessions was always considered highly unlikely without Milwaukee trading away someone else first, because the cost-conscious Bucks are less than $2 million beneath the luxury-tax line.

Although the Bucks did not want to lose Sessions after the free-agent departure earlier this summer of Charlie Villanueva to Detroit, they were not prepared to go into tax territory with Brandon Jennings drafted as Milwaukee's point guard of the future in June and two more lead guards on the payroll.

The Wolves quickly targeted Sessions to help fill the void created by No. 5 overall pick Ricky Rubio's decision to play at least the next two seasons in his native Spain. Signing Sessions also ensures the presence of a veteran point guard to ease the transition to the NBA for No. 6 overall pick Jonny Flynn.

Yet it remains to be seen whether all three of those guards have a long-term future with the club.

The Wolves have been adamant that they will wait two years for Rubio if necessary. But Rubio's decision to sign with Barcelona when the perennial Spanish powerhouse offered to pay his entire $5 million buyout with DJK Joventut, coupled with Sessions' arrival, only figures to encourage teams interested in Rubio -- such as the New York Knicks -- to try to pry him away from Minnesota via trade.

Sessions was courted for much of the summer by the Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. But both teams were reluctant to commit long-term deals to the 23-year-old.

The Knicks remain hesitant to burn salary-cap space for the summer of 2010 and the Clippers saw Sessions as no more than a third guard behind Baron Davis and Eric Gordon.

Sessions averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists last season in 79 games, 39 of those as a starter. He spent most of the 2007-08 season in the D-League before joining Milwaukee in a March call-up and promptly setting a franchise single-game record with 24 assists in an April 2008 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

After the signing of Sessions and the trade earlier this week with the New Orleans Hornets in which the Wolves moved Darius Songaila's contract off the books to land another veteran combo guard in Antonio Daniels, Minnesota is projected to have up to $10 million to $13 million in salary-cap space in the summer of 2010.