After months of speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers have finally acquired the talents of Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ramon Sessions.
The Lakers sent reserve Luke Walton, small forward Jason Kapono and a protected 2012 first round draft pick to the Cavs for Sessions and reserve forward Christian Eyenga.
The Sessions deal then spurred Los Angeles to trade thirty-seven year old guard Derek Fisher to the Houston Rockets for power forward Jordan Hill. In completing the deadline day deals, the Lakers have addressed two of their most pressing issues – their weakness at point guard, and their age.
While Jordan Hill is not expected to be a major component to the Lakers’ run at their third title in four seasons, Sessions will be.
Last season, the South Carolina native averaged a respectable 13.3 points a game from 26.3 minutes on a floundering Cleveland Cavaliers team that sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the 2010-11 season. This season, he has statistically regressed due to the arrival of impressive rookie Kyrie Irving.
But when you watch the lightning quick point guard out of Nevada, you’ll see that his skills haven’t slipped in the slightest since last season.
His ability to get points on the board and hit open teammates will be a great benefit to the Lakers, who have been led in assists thus far by Kobe Bryant with a mere 4.8 a game.
Acquiring Sessions has given the Lakers two things – a playmaker to feed their twin towers of Bynum and Gasol, and another scoring threat for the defence to fear.
But the other move, losing Fisher for Jordan Hill, has received more of a mixed reception around the league.
Derek Fisher was never on the Los Angeles Lakers roster for his playing ability. He wasn’t pursued by the Miami Heat in the 2010 for his playing ability.
‘Fish’ is a leader, a warrior and consummate gentleman that has been the heart and soul of the Los Angeles Lakers since he returned from the Utah Jazz. But at the age of thirty-seven, he was clearly not of calibre to be the starting point of any organisation, maybe not even backup.
The Lakers will no doubt miss him though; they’ll miss his leadership and his uncanny knack of making clutch shots when seasons are on the line. The Los Angeles Lakers, however, are looking to win. And these trades have definitely made them a team much more capable of doing that.
With Sessions in tow, the Lakers can march towards the NBA Playoffs with more confidence, more belief and stronger than they have been since the 2010 Finals. They may have arrived a little late, but class is definitely in session for the Los Angeles Lakers.
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