When GM Mitch Kupchak dealt longtime Laker PG Derek Fisher to Houston at the trade deadline many hoops heads were baffled. After all, the 16th-year co-captain came into the league at the same time as backcourt mate Kobe Bryant and was a key contributor in five successful championship campaigns.
But like a lot of squads in the NBA, Los Angeles is looking to get younger and shake things up a bit. They want another shot at the title and realize that the landscape is full of hungry, talented, no-ring teams who are gunning for the glitzy Goliaths.
Queue the spotlight on newly acquired point man 25-year-old Ramon Sessions. Coming from Cleveland in a trade that sent a 2012 first round draft pick, Luke Walton and Jason Kapono to the Cavs, Sessions has quickly supplanted Steve Blake as the starting 1-guard for coach Mike Brown. The hard-working, 5th-year playmaker gives LA atheticism and will take some of the load off of Kobe in helping to create shots for his teammates. The Lakers also like the fact that Sessions can play pick-and-roll basketball.
In his six games as a Laker, Sessions has recorded 19, 23, 29, 29, 36 and 36 minutes – see a trend? In the purple and gold, he is averaging 14.3 ppg, 6.66 apg and 3.5 rpg compared to his overall season averages of 11 ppg, 5.4 apg and 3.1 rpg. As Sessions gets more comfortable in coach Brown’s system and starts gelling with his teammates, his numbers should increase across the board.
In addition, this opportunity with the always-in-the-hunt Lakers represents the first time in Sessions’ budding pro career that he’s balling with multiple All-Stars and that his team has a legit shot at going deep in the postseason. Expect the University of Nevada product to embrace his chance to contribute to this storied franchise.
