Kings sign Ramon Sessions

[The Hammer]

At 2.1 million a year? Great signing!

 

[pdxKingsFan]

The 2002 Kings weren't built in a day. We started 1998-1999 with an elite talent, a vet to guide him, and some draft picks we are hoping would pan out. Sound familiar?

Then we cycled in guys like Vernon Maxwell, Nick Anderson, Jon Barry, Mateen Cleeves, Scot Pollard, Doug Christie, and Mike Bibby all while doing pretty decent for an improving team in the draft. Some of these guys are interesting footnotes, some are top 10 fan favorites.

We aren't reinventing the wheel here, but we are hoping to strike gold twice. With each step we got incrementally better and the free agents/trade targets we could attract went up just a little bit.

 

[swisshh]

I will say that this is a step up for how Free Agents view the Kings compared to years past. Sessions isn't a hot commodity, but he's a proven type of guy who can play solid backup PG in the league. Getting guys like him on good deals is (sadly perhaps) a step up for how FAs view the Kings.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

I like the signing. He will be a nice spark plus off the bench. I like his ability to get to the line and convert. He draws alot of fouls. always nice to have another vet on the team aswell.

Rays time will come, I think this will only help his development overall.

 

[flamecrow]

we will have 60 wins by the end of the season and no less.

 

[rainmaker]

The 2002 Kings weren't built in a day. We started 1998-1999 with an elite talent, a vet to guide him, and some draft picks we are hoping would pan out. Sound familiar?

Then we cycled in guys like Vernon Maxwell, Nick Anderson, Jon Barry, Mateen Cleeves, Scot Pollard, Doug Christie, and Mike Bibby all while doing pretty decent for an improving team in the draft. Some of these guys are interesting footnotes, some are top 10 fan favorites.

A noticeable difference however is that all those guys played one position and played that position well, some better than others. Doug could play some point but there was no need with both Bibby and BJax.

But those guys were all solid contributors at their given positions and fit into a set rotation with clear roles. We however have a number of "tweeners", and early comments on twitter suggest PDA wants Sessions to spend time off the ball, meaning going small and non-defensive. That's quite a different intent than what we had with the names you mentioned.

 

[Fear the Putin]

me likey
now cut the fat off the roster!

 

[Bricklayer]

me likey
now cut the fat off the roster!

Only thing, its hard to tell where the fat ends and the meat begins anymore:

Cousins/Thompson/Hollins
Evans/Landry/Moreland
Gay/Williams/Casspi
Stauskas/McLemore
Collison/Sessions/McCallum

I would consider basically that entire 2nd unit except Sessions as the main potential trade pieces.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

A noticeable difference however is that all those guys played one position and played that position well, some better than others. Doug could play some point but there was no need with both Bibby and BJax.

But those guys were all solid contributors at their given positions and fit into a set rotation with clear roles. We however have a number of "tweeners", and early comments on twitter suggest PDA wants Sessions to spend time off the ball, meaning going small and non-defensive. That's quite a different intent than what we had with the names you mentioned.

Fair point, though I'm not suggesting we've found our Bibby, Christie or BJax. Just that it took some time to prove we could contend and then for a brief period of time, it seemed like plenty of real talent actually wanted to play for our team.

Obviously, one or two of our recent draft picks have to pan out, or at least become trade bait while another handful of our budget signings need to become contributors who either get dealt for bigger pieces or move on and get replaced with better talent as the team grows.

 

[Prince_XY]

Cousins/Thompson/Hollins
Evans/Landry/Moreland
Gay/Williams/Casspi
Stauskas/McLemore
Collison/Sessions/McCallum

Pretty decent line-up, especially if Moreland turns up soon enough into that shot blocking big PF we need next to Cousins. I'll expect this team no less than 41 wins next season. Maybe 50 if Cousins and Gay play inspired basketball and Collison proved to be the awesome PG catalyst at both ends of the floor every single game.

Sessions contract at $2.1M a year as back-up PG (and possibly as starter PG occasionally) is a big win. That is very cheap considering what he can give you and compared to the non-facilitating and no-defense midget IT can bring. Our PG problem is now settled for the next 2 years.

 

[itzcoatl]

I like this signing. Sessions is a good distributor. Now, let's hope our other guys give him someone to distribute to! We all know Cousins and Gay will benefit from having a distributor, but after that, I'm not sure who on our team will be a beneficiary. Thompson? Stauskas? Landry? We'll see.

 

[kingsnation]

This is a great signing and the first I've really been excited about this offseason. Sessions can create and will get other players involved, even if it's off the bench. Perhaps our 2nd unit will also be much better and stable with a true, pass-first PG leading them as well.

The potential of a Sessions-Collison duo with Sessions at the 2 is something I'm really looking forward to seeing as well.
When was the last time we had two competent, unselfish, pass-first players at the 1 and 2 playing on the court at the same time?

 

[NowImLost]

bring in those 10-14 more wins baby.

 

[Tetsujin]

bring in those 10-14 more wins baby.

14 more wins would give us a winning record (42-40). Probably not playoff caliber but still hands down our best record since the Adelman era. With this roster, I would not be against that.

 

[ParniValjak]

Now this is more like it! I really like this signing. This, along with picking up Moreland, is the best signing of the off-season for us (not counting the draft)

 

[Gilles]

Sessions is better than Collison, Sessions is a borderline starter and has been and done well, I even said in previous posts I would take Sessions over Thomas numerous times.

As a starter Sessions has a tendency to turn into IT over time: tunnel vision and selfishness. Remember that Thomas actually had a good assist rate, but somehow it didn't make team play as a cohesive unit. That's why he hasn't find a permanent home yet - he certainly isn't a good starter.

 

[KingMilz]

As a starter Sessions has a tendency to turn into IT over time: tunnel vision and selfishness. Remember that Thomas actually had a good assist rate, but somehow it didn't make team play as a cohesive unit. That's why he hasn't find a permanent home yet - he certainly isn't a good starter.

Neither is Nick Collison or IT, I said Sessions was a starter I never said he was a good starter ( I said he's a fringe starter) and I would take him over both Collison/IT.

 

[Gilles]

Nick Collison isn't a starter and, I believe, Kings let IT go for the same reason Sessions is not a good starter.

 

[Mass]

Nick Collison isn't a starter and, I believe, Kings let IT go for the same reason Sessions is not a good starter.

Well, then we are lucky Nick Collison still plays for OKC...

 

[Prince_XY]

Well, then we are lucky Nick Collison still plays for OKC...

LOL.

 

[Gilles]

Missed that he obviously meant Darren Collison, who last year, when starting for LA Clippers helped them to 26-9 record. Not saying Clippers should've kept him over Chris Paul, just pointing out the fact that on a team, that needs facilitator rather than creator from PG position, he can fit in nicely. The year before playing for Mavs he was asked to play much larger role, often that of the 2nd option (Dirk missed big chunk of the season), and team success was lackluster. So while Collison and Sessions are both fringe starters, one knows his role, the other doesn't.

 

[Gary]

Love the signing. Big fan of Sessions and have wanted him for years. Last couple years he has shown that he hasn't lost much (if anything) in terms of his skills.

 

[bajaden]

The alternate to the "must be a big move coming" theory would be a far more complex and subtle theory that frankly does not seem to jive with a young a management team impatient to win. Nonetheless, you could argue the theory that instead of one big splash move, we are relentlessly pushing forward with incremental advancement on numerous fronts all hopefully adding up to a push for .500. That theory would look something like this:

Get Rudy for whole season, not just 50 games, +5wins
Continued Cousins improvement/confidence +3wins
Proven veteran backup PG to replace shaky unproven kids: +3wins
Landry back to give us proven bench scorer instead of Acy: +3 wins
Stauskas more sophisticated and ready than was McLemore: +4wins
Let IT's ball dominance go, replaced him and backcourt with multiple ballhandlers (Stauskas, Collison, Sessions) + 4wins
Added superior lead assistant +2wins

etc.

You could argue that maybe we are trying to win a war of pinpricks. Add up all those "+'s" and we are a 52 win team. Not, obviously, that I am saying it will all work as planned. Just saying that an alternate to the "well we must be doing something big" theory is the "we're just cleaning out our scrubs, replacing inexperienced kids with tough vets, and trying to add 2 or 3 more solid vet presences on the roster than we had last year" theory.

Actually, what your saying isn't that far fetched. Look at The Sun's roster from last season. That team won 48 games while we won 28 games. That's a 20 game difference, but for the life of me, when I look at their roster, I don't see a 20 game difference, and I could argue that our roster was as good, maybe even better than theirs. Maybe! My point is though, they didn't have a roster full of world beaters, but they still managed to barely miss the playoffs. The difference was, they played more like a team than we did. I like our current roster better than their current roster. So who knows? If everything falls into place, we just might compete for that final spot. I doubt it, but its not totally unreasonable.

 

[bajaden]

Sac was looking for a combo guard and they got a solid signing at a nice contract. I look at it as hedging against both Stauskas AND Ben performing at a shaky level. I'm not ready to bank on Stauskas being NBA ready yet and Ben has much room for improvement. I think we will see our fair share of Ray and Sessions together.

I think Stauskas will be fine. Not saying he won't make mistakes along the way, but he won't make stupid mistakes like McLemore did. He knows how to play the game, and he plays with a purpose. His problem will be the same problem any rookie has. The speed, and the physicality of the game is a step up from college, and it'll take him some time to get stronger, and adjust.. However, I think he'll still make an impact with his intelligent playmaking, and shooting. How much is the question.

 

[dude12]

I think Stauskas will be fine. Not saying he won't make mistakes along the way, but he won't make stupid mistakes like McLemore did. He knows how to play the game, and he plays with a purpose. His problem will be the same problem any rookie has. The speed, and the physicality of the game is a step up from college, and it'll take him some time to get stronger, and adjust.. However, I think he'll still make an impact with his intelligent playmaking, and shooting. How much is the question.

Your pretty much making my point. Rookie learning curve, he's physically not as strong as he needs to be, etc....he can contribute but it's to have a vet that we can turn too. I also think that Stauskas is going to benefit from not having to play with IT.

 

[bajaden]

Because PDA is new at the whole GM thing, and possibly over his head?

I think all these guys we are signing are also kind of "combo-y" ..... Most of the guards on our roster will probably see time at the 1 and the 2. I mean, that's been the FOs party line for the entire season..."Position-less" basketball .... Which I interpret as "Crappy, small ball, terrible defense, Malone pulling his hair out at PDA's roster moves" basketball. OTOH...We might be putting up some points next season.

To be fair...PDA is signing and trying out old, washed up, and never were defensive players...So...We'll see how it all works out.


By itself, the Sessions signing isnt a bad one... I shouldnt be so cynical. I'll leave that to Bricklayer.

I'm curious. When you refer to old washed up players, to whom are you referring? Or is 27/28 yr's old now the accepted age as being washed up and old. The oldest player we've signed is Ryan Hollins who will be 30 years old in oct. Sessions is 28 years old, Collison is 27 years old, and Casspi is 26 years old. It used to be that 27/28 was considered a players prime years.

 

[Glenn]

I'm curious. When you refer to old washed up players, to whom are you referring? Or is 27/28 yr's old now the accepted age as being washed up and old. The oldest player we've signed is Ryan Hollins who will be 30 years old in oct. Sessions is 28 years old, Collison is 27 years old, and Casspi is 26 years old. It used to be that 27/28 was considered a players prime years.

All of 'em. All of 'em are washed up.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I like this signing. Sessions is a good distributor. Now, let's hope our other guys give him someone to distribute to! We all know Cousins and Gay will benefit from having a distributor, but after that, I'm not sure who on our team will be a beneficiary. Thompson? Stauskas? Landry? We'll see.

Anybody who can score at the other 4 positions on the floor will benefit

 

[gunks]

I'm curious. When you refer to old washed up players, to whom are you referring? Or is 27/28 yr's old now the accepted age as being washed up and old. The oldest player we've signed is Ryan Hollins who will be 30 years old in oct. Sessions is 28 years old, Collison is 27 years old, and Casspi is 26 years old. It used to be that 27/28 was considered a players prime years.

Well... I was referring to the fact that we were working out Josh Howard, Pietrus, and Moon. None of those guys played in the league last year, and they are all on the wrong side of 30 (I believe)... I'd consider that washed up. As far as Sessions, Hollins, and Casspi... I actually like the Sessions signing. Hollins and Casspi....I dont consider them washed up, nor do I consider them bad signings... I just consider them "meh".

I suppose I should lower my standards for these vet min, end of the bench players we are bringing on.


But...Come on PDA... Is it THAT hard to get Josh Smith to back up Rudy? Or Bledsoe to back up Collison? Howbout Henson or Sanders to back up Cousins?!! Jeeze... Petrie he aint!

 

[dude12]

Well... I was referring to the fact that we were working out Josh Howard, Pietrus, and Moon. None of those guys played in the league last year, and they are all on the wrong side of 30 (I believe)... I'd consider that washed up. As far as Sessions, Hollins, and Casspi... I actually like the Sessions signing. Hollins and Casspi....I dont consider them washed up, nor do I consider them bad signings... I just consider them "meh".

I suppose I should lower my standards for these vet min, end of the bench players we are bringing on.


But...Come on PDA... Is it THAT hard to get Josh Smith to back up Rudy? Or Bledsoe to back up Collison? Howbout Henson or Sanders to back up Cousins?!! Jeeze... Petrie he aint!

Petrie's last years were sketchy and we all can blame the Maloofs, but still Petrie was awful and I was a huge Petrie fan.

PDA and the org. Is doing exactly what they said they were going to do, which is to clean house, turn over the roster, or change the culture....however you want to say it. He's been at the job a little over 1 year now and I like all these low end vet deals. The Gay trade was a winner for us. The next big trade has to be the one that gets us to the playoffs. Maybe the FO has moved on from Josh Smith, Rondo and is looking / waiting for the next opportunity that hasn't yet presented itself.

At this point, the patience may be rewarded with a couple of different opportunities that hasn't materialized but will once teams realize that the big contracts they have given out to their players and /or the development of younger players makes other vets available. There were some questionable contracts given out this past FA period.....some ofthose teams are going to regret those deals.