Former Lakers point guard says his fear of being traded led him to signing with a different team.
The offseason and free agency saw many teams aggressively pursuing free agents and players on expiring contracts, and the Lakers seemed to be ahead of the pack in their pursuit of good quality players to make them a strong contender
yet again. After a humiliating loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, everyone knew that the Lakers were going to go all out and re-enforce the team, so as to give Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol another shot at winning the NBA
title. But there was one player that was unable to get their attention, and that was former point guard Ramon Sessions.
Sessions had a good season with the Lakers but struggled in the playoffs, his first playoff appearance of his career. Sessions was not ready to compete at the highest level, and let his team down. And the Lakers did not like that,
refusing to bring him back on a new contract, particularly at the price he was asking for. As we later found out, the Lakers were in the process of acquiring Steve Nash as their starting point guard, and might have looked at Sessions as a back-up had he been
demanding less money. But Sessions has recently revealed that he himself did not want to re-sign with his former team as he feared that he would be eventually traded.
“It was one of those situations I looked at like, ‘If I do come back what if they trade me?’ There were talks about getting Deron. They always wanted the bigger-named guy. What if I get traded to a team and it’s my contract year?
It was one of those things that I can’t say if I opted in, [Nash] wouldn’t have come. They still might have tried to get him. You just never know,” said Sessions in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports.
Sessions went ahead and signed with the Charlotte Bobcats, a team trying to bounce back from one of the worst seasons in NBA history. The Bobcats picked Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with their number 2 draft pick this year, and along
with Sessions and some other supporting cast, will be looking to rebuild the team and put up a respectable effort in the coming NBA season. However, unlike the New Orleans Hornets who made some smart trades and acquisitions during the summer, the Bobcats look
headed for a lottery pick for next season as well, and if they get a good quality point guard for their pick, Session’s role in the team would receive a setback. Sessions has one full season to play with an average team and prove his skills and talent, possibly
securing his future with the franchise. The time for him to shine is here, and it depends on how he reacts to the challenge.
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