Is this the first domino? Warrick’s deal with the Bucks is reportedly a 1yr/3mil deal. This appears to signal that the Bucks are going in a different direction. Bruce Bowen’s contract becomes guaranteed for four million instead of two million tomorrow, so the Bucks probably aren’t done today.
The Bucks don’t look like they’re willing to match any substantial offers for Sessions. The ball is clearly in the Knicks court. Sessions isn’t in any hurry, and he’ll likely wait it out to see what New York offers.
The Knicks are in the lead. Sessions has a connection with the D’Antoni’s, would play tons of minutes, and would put up huge numbers in a point guard friendly system in New York. That’s three things the Clippers simply can’t offer.
Why would Sessions be reluctant to agree to a Clippers offer? There are plenty of reasons, but the main one appears to be a lack of playing time. If Sessions decided to come to L.A., he’d be banking on Baron continuing his decline so minutes would open up. As it stands right now, he’d have to fight off Telfair for the backup job to a former All-Star. Clippers management seemingly values Sessions more than Telfair, but they may be in a bit of a quandary. They might not be able to get Sessions to sign unless Telfair is out of the picture, but the Clippers won’t deal Telfair unless they are guaranteed to get Sessions. It’s just a theory, but it feels like a stalemate.
Do the Knicks REALLY want Sessions though? Knicks management seems to waffle back and forth on him quite a bit. If the Knicks do sign Sessions, it will undoubtedly eat away at some of their 2010 cap room that they worked so hard to get. The internal decision by the Knicks management team will ultimately decide how this thing plays out.
A backup plan, or extra negotiating power? The Knicks now have the exclusive rights to Jason Williams until August 6th. If Sessions and his agent play hardball, would the Knicks be willing to walk away and go with J-Will?
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