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by buck84
Lakers Pursuing Trade for Cavaliers’ Sessions
By Gil Alcaraz IV, Yahoo! Contributor Network
17 minutes ago
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At this point in the season, the 12-9 Los Angeles Lakers are exploring all available options for finding a cure to their point guard deficiencies.
In hopes of bringing a new, younger point guard into the mix, the Lakers have contacted the Cleveland Cavaliers about the possibility of working out a trade for Ramon Sessions.
From Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski: "The Los Angeles Lakers have talked with the Cleveland Cavaliers about possibly acquiring guard Ramon Sessions, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. No deal is imminent, but the Lakers view Sessions as a candidate who could help their depleted backcourt."
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With an aging Derek Fisher, injured Steve Blake and raw rookies Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris the only options currently on the roster, the Lakers are in desperate need of a playmaking point guard. Sessions, now in his fifth NBA season, would be an excellent fit for head coach Mike Brown's offense and would give the Lakers a much-needed boost on defense as well.
What Sessions would really bring to the floor is a facilitating point guard who can use his quickness and athleticism to not only set up his teammates, but to also create mismatches and points. Even though the Lakers have recently discovered a reliable three-point shooter in Goudelock, adding a 36 percent long range shooter like Sessions to the starting lineup would be a huge help for the Lakers offense. Not only would it force defenses to take the Lakers outside shooting more seriously, but it would also allow more space for the Lakers' bigs to wreak havoc in the paint. Overall, it's safe to say that he'd be much more effective than anything the Lakers currently have to work with at the point guard spot.
Prior to contacting the Cavaliers, the Lakers displayed considerable interest in several other options to fill the void, including veterans Gilbert Arenas, Mo Pete and Morris Peterson. With Sessions now on the radar, their other targets have become obsolete. Not only is he younger and a better fit for the Lakers, but he's much more of the sparkplug that Brown's offense needs.
So far this season, Sessions has taken a backseat in Cleveland after the Cavaliers spent the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft on point guard Kyrie Irving. After starting half the Cavaliers' games last season, he has yet to start in any of their 19 games this season. Despite his bench role, he's averaging 9.1 points, 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game in 2011-2012.
What makes this situation extremely plausible is Sessions' expendability with the Cavaliers and the nifty little trade exception that the Lakers have in their back pocket. Sessions is set to make $4.3 million this season, with a player-option $4.6 million next season. With the $8.9 million trade exception that the Lakers received when the shipped Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks, they could easily absorb his contract.
The only lingering question at this point is what the Cavaliers' asking price will be. Considering that they're looking to stockpile picks and build for the future, working out the logistics of the deal doesn't seem like too big of speed bump for the Lakers.
Nothing is set in stone at this point. But the fact that the Lakers are desperately looking for a new point guard to add to their roster is a good sign that they've acknowledged their flaws and are trying to correct them.
Too bad they weren't this adamant about finding Fisher's replacement before the season started…