Friday, September 4, 2009
Wolves Ink Sessions; Griz Wait on Iverson
Posted by Chris Herrington on Fri, Sep 4, 2009 at 12:51 PM
- The Grizzlies await an Answer that could come today.
With the Grizzlies seeking a versatile ball-handling guard to give the team scoring punch off the bench, why wait for Iverson and not make a bid for Sessions, especially when the cost for next season would be roughly similar?
Iverson may well be the better player next season, but how far can the Grizzlies reasonably go next season? For a young team still at least a year away from playoff contention, what would bring more value? A 34-year-old Iverson (18 points and 5 assists per game last season, 15.89 PER) for one season or a 23-year-old Sessions (12 points and 6 assists per game last season, 17.65 PER) for four seasons? And this is without factoring in considerably less risk of turmoil from Sessions and less defensive liability. (Sessions is at least three inches taller)
- Meanwhile, the Timberwolves might have gotten a free-agent bargain with Ramon Sessions.
Essentially it's a choice between short-term profitability and long-term sustainability, and the focus on the former over the latter is one of the reasons the vast majority of people who follow the NBA are questioning owner Michael Heisley's current stewardship of the team: Ramon Sessions at 4 years/$16 million is a free-agent bargain, but Heisley would rather take on the splashy, less costly one-year Iverson gimmick. A useful Hakim Warrick on a $3 million qualifying offer is a free-agent bargain, but not as cost-effective as a useless Steven Hunter with cash considerations (and, thankfully, a future draft pick) attached. David Lee now set to take a one-year deal from the Knicks, might have been a free-agent bargain, had the team pursued him, but not as cost-effective as a two-year commitment to Zach Randolph with deferred salary attached.
No reasonable person is asking Heisley to spend wildly or ignore the financial realities of running a small-market team in a bad economy. I was promoting financial restraint when the team was paying luxury tax and the economy was in better shape. But in order for the Grizzlies to succeed, they need strong, empowered management that reconciles frugality with basketball-centric decision-making — a difficult but necessary task.
The Grizzlies are better after this off-season — no doubt about it. But it's hard to ignore what has been a summer of missed opportunities due to short-term decision-making.
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Ramon Sessions (2007 26th pick 2nd round) would provide unnecessary competition to Mike Conley (2007 4th pick 1st round).
That's the most serious argument for why that wouldn't have been a good deal for the Grizzlies -- relative to a potential Iverson signing — though the Wolves don't seem too concerned about having Sessions and Jonny Flynn on the same roster. As a third guard, Sessions (at 6'3") would seem to be able to play with Conley more easily than Iverson (6'0" at best) can.
We need the positions to be competitive. I hope the best for Conley, and hope he can continue to improve on his late season bloom, but if he can't handle competition, how will he be tough enough to run the point?
A lot of teams passed on Sessions, including the Bucks (after they refused to trade him to the Griz last season). The Griz aren't the only "cheap" ones here.
Ok you guys. I was on Twitter today and someone that went to speak to Allen Iverson last night said that he was going to sign with the Bobcats today.
It is Conley or die for Heisley. He passed on so many capable guards in this year's draft to chase his ever elusive dream center.
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