Sessions Dealt to Cleveland
After attempting to make some splashes in free agency following the departure of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers have finally managed to make their first off-season move.
On Monday, the Cavaliers sent troubled guard Delonte West and point guard Sebastian Telfair to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange, the Timberwolves sent point guard Ramon Sessions, the 7 ft Ryan Hollins, and a future second-round pick to Cleveland.
After James announced his departure from Cleveland to join Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert vowed that he would win a championship with Cleveland before James did in Miami, although he later calmed down and claimed it was a rallying call to the troops.
The Cavaliers’ first attempts at this roster makeover involved signing Houston Rockets’ restricted free agent point guard Kyle Lowry to an offer sheet. The Rockets clearly valued Lowry just as strongly and matched the offer. Now the Cavaliers have settled on bringing in Sessions for the point guard slot. Sessions fared well last season at quick pick-and-roll play while backing up rookie Johnny Flynn in Minnesota.
Cleveland acquires the remains of the four-year, $16 million deal Sessions signed last season to join the Timberwolves from the Milwaukee Bucks. In his first and only season with Minnesota, Sessions averaged a career-low 21.1 minutes per game and averaged 8.2 points on 45.6 percent shooting and 3.1 assists.
The Nevada alum should get a lot more playing time with the Cavaliers. Cleveland will be attempting to adjust to a more standard use of point guards as 6ft 8in James typically took on ball-handling duties for the Cavaliers last season. Sessions already has good chemistry with guard Mo Williams, with whom he played on the Bucks.
Hollins is an attempt for the Cavaliers to develop a strong centre. The 25-year-old Hollins is an extremely gifted athlete, but is still very raw in terms of basketball ability and IQ. Last season he averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Newly appointed Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant is excited about the possibilities opened up by this trade. In a team issued statement, he said: "In Ramon, we're excited to add a young, multi-dimensional guard, and with Ryan, we're adding a young, athletic centre. We think both Ramon and Ryan are really good fits for this team. We're also happy to add another asset for the future with the additional draft pick."
Perhaps better than any acquisition for the Cavaliers is the departure of Delonte West. West was the Cavaliers second-best player in the 2008 and 2009 play-offs, but has struggled in 2010 due to several off-court issues.
Earlier this month, West pleaded guilty in Maryland to weapons charges and will be under house arrest and electronic monitoring for eight month, followed by two years of probation and counselling.
Although West will be able to travel to practices and games, it is unlikely he will have to. Not even the Timberwolves are foolish enough to suffer through paying $4.6 million for West’s 8.8 points and 3.3 assists in 25 minutes per game. West will cost the Timberwolves only $500,000 if waived by 1 August, an action that seems more than likely.
Telfair also will most likely not remain with the Timberwolves due to their already deep point guard roster of Johnny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, and the faint glimmer of Spanish pick Ricky Rubio arriving in 2011.
In general, these are both mediocre moves for both teams. The addition of Sessions is by no means going to fill the gap left by James’s departure and the Timberwolves simply clear up a slight logjam at point guard and centre created by their bizarre signing streaks, such as the addition of perennial underperformers Michael Beasley and Darko Milicic to the squad.
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