As restricted free agents' situations appear closer to resolutions, sources say that Donnie Walsh is ready to offer Milwaukee point guard Ramon Sessions the first Knicks restricted contract of the summer. The deal would be a modest one, but it would cut into the precious 2010 fund, something Walsh been reluctant to do. But the delay appears to be over the status of Bruce Bowen with the Bucks.
Despite reports that the team is moving on from pursuing the Bucks point guard, word out of Milwaukee on Tuesday night is that the Knicks are still very much in play. That would be the reason why the reported signing of Nate Robinson is now in limbo.
"Sessions is more of a priority than Nate because he fits the system so perfectly," one source said. "But it would seem the Bowen situation seems to be holding everything up."
Last month, the cash-strapped Bucks traded Richard Jefferson to the Spurs in exchange for Bowen and Kurt Thomas, two veterans whose contracts expire after this year. At the time, the deal was designed to ensure that the team would keep either Charlie Villanueva or Sessions. What Milwaukee does with Bowen has the Knicks' attention and seems to be the reason Walsh has yet to make the Milwaukee guard an offer.
The NBA's tax limit is $69.92 million and the Bucks' payroll, according to hoopshype.com, sits at $64,720,847. Should Bowen not be traded and the Bucks release him on Aug. 1, it would cost the team half of his $4 million salary, leaving the payroll slightly under $63 million. That would give the team room to match the Knicks' reported four-year, $26.5 million offer. The first year of the deal would be $5.8 million.
But do the Bucks want to? Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix tweeted that the Bucks and Hakeem Warrick could be a match, meaning Milwaukee certainly wouldn't equal any offer for Sessions.
Apparently, the play for Walsh is to sit back and see what the Bucks decide to do with Bowen, who is rumored to be drawing interest from Boston. That means nothing imminent will happen with the Sessions situation from the Knicks for a few more days. I don't think anything of the Jamaal Tinsley rumors. At this point, it would make more sense to bring in Sessions or settle on bringing Robinson back on a one-year deal.
Sessions is a pass-first, low-maintenance floor general who distributes and protects the ball like few others at the position. Last season, he ranked ninth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio while splitting time with Luke Ridnour.
Sessions burst onto the scene in 2008 with 24 assists against the Bulls, and his play immediately made incumbent point guard Mo Williams, whom the Bucks had just signed to a big contract, expendable. That made me scratch my head when the Bucks drafted Brandon Jennings in June. One would have to think that Bucks general manager John Hammond was hedging his bet in case Sessions received an offer that the Bucks couldn't match.
Having pursued Jason Kidd and Andre Miller, the Knicks are looking for an upgrade at point guard. They want someone to take the starting reins from Chris Duhon, who is better suited for a role off the bench. In Toney Douglas, they have a player who is NBA-ready and should be ready to replace Duhon at the end of the season. If the Knicks can find a taker for Duhon's contract, that move could happen sooner.
Any four-year deal offered to Sessions would have to be similar in structure to the five-year deal that Trevor Ariza just signed with the Rockets: $5.8 million in the first season, roughly $6.3 million on the cap for the 2010-11 season, 6.8 for 2011-12 and $7.2 for 2012-13.
Post on facebook
Fan Comments 
print
email
