Vitals
Age: 26
NBA Experience: 5 Years
Contract Status: Player option for 2012-13
2011-12 Averages (with Lakers): 12.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.1 apg, 30.5 mpg, 47% FG, 71% FT, 48% 3PT
He hasn’t even been a Laker for a full season and already Ramon Sessions has reached those purple and gold crossroads. Then again, his career seems to perpetually be at the crossroads.
When the Lakers acquired Sessions at the trade deadline this past season it marked the fourth franchise Ramon has suited up for in 5 years of NBA service. While journeying across the NBA is nothing new to Ramon playing for a title contender was very much a new experience.
Initially Sessions looked like the savior of Los Angeles as he energized the lackluster Lakers offense with his blazing speed and pin-point passing. But the closer it got to the postseason the more you saw Sessions and his production shrink.
When Ramon first arrived there was no time for practice so he just went out and played his game without thinking twice. But once he was inserted into the starting lineup and veteran players began to grumble about how often Sessions pushed the tempo things changed. Safe to say Ramon’s first taste of the postseason left a bad flavor in his mouth.
During the crucial moments of the postseason Mike Brown preferred Steve Blake to Sessions. You could see Ramon doing way too much thinking on the NBA’s big stage as he was unable to breakdown defenses with ease like he’d done often during the regular season. Never known as a shooter, Sessions shot an impressive 47% during his 23 games as a Laker. Then the playoffs started and Ramon’s jumper went the way of Matt Barnes’ shooting stroke.
The issue now is that Sessions has a player option for next season that he’s unlikely to exercise which means he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. If Mitch Kupchak is unable to negotiate a deal to Ramon’s liking then it will be back to square one as the Lakers look for a new point guard. Of course even if they retain Ramon there is still talk of finding more help at the point guard position. Just chalk it up to another unknown element in the confusing equation that is this Lake Show rebuilding on the fly process that began last season.
Sessions was a clear upgrade over Derek Fisher but that doesn’t make his value such that the Lakers can’t afford to lose him. Problem is there aren’t many more options so it could be a case of staying the course for continuity’s sake. There’s also the argument to be made for giving Sessions a full season to allow him to adjust to the team. But again, that requires Session remaining a Laker which is very much up in the air at the moment.