The Bobcats make a move to try and cement their first playoff appearance since 2010.
After having talks centred around a Neal-Butler for Sessions deal fall through on Wednesday both the Cats and Bucks managed to resurrect discussions and complete a deal just two hours before the NBA trade deadline. The Bobcats pursued Neal last summer in free agency in an attempt to address their severe lack of outside shooting. Milwaukee ultimately offered more money and Neal opted to head North. However, with Milwaukee struggling Neal has become despondent with the Bucks organization, he had not experienced this type of losing with the Spurs and quickly expressed an interest to be traded. The Bucks were happy to get rid of his two year $7 million dollar contract, and have taken back two expiring contracts in Sessions and Adrien. Ridnour seemed to be the snagging point in the deal but the Bobcats management eventually seemed to come round to the idea of him being the primary backup for Kemba Walker, a certain downgrade from Ramon Sessions.
Charlotte Bobcats
The Bobcats drastically improved their three point shooting by getting in two seasoned NBA vets. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour will certainly bolster Charlotte’s spotty outside shooting, they have career averages of 40% and 35% , respectively. Charlotte currently rank 29th in the league in three pointers made, the subtractions of Adrien and Sessions and addition of these two new guards will go some way to correct their shooting woes. If Neal can find the form he showed in San Anontio he will be a huge addition to the Charlotte backcourt. However, despite Session’s drawbacks (Selfish at times, not a good shooter, poor in late game situations) he was actually a very effective backup in Charlotte and often had to carry the scoring load for a struggling second unit, he also stepped up and played great while Kemba Walker was out with an ankle injury. Sessions was an integral part of coach Clifford’s strong locker room and he will be sorely missed by his teamates, as will Jeff Adrien who was one of the most popular guys on the team. Sessions originally comes from Myrtle beach, South Carolina and had stated numerous times he wanted to retire in Charlotte. However, with the Bobcats firmly in the playoff race the front office decided they needed to make a move to improve their chances. Neal is the only player in this trade who’s contract actually goes past this off season.
Ridnour on the other hand is a “Steddy Eddy” point guard, he is on the downside in his career (33 years old) and hasn’t shot over 31% from three in either of the last two seasons. To entrust the backup Point Guard position to either Neal or Ridnour each has it’s own individual risks, which are probably greater than if they had just kept Sessions. Adrien is simply a throw in to make the numbers work, the Bobcats big man rotation of Jefferson, McRoberts, Zeller, Biyombo, Tolliver, MKG is more than enough to cover Adrien’s departure, not to mention the possibility of Brendan Haywood coming back towards the end of the year. However, Charlotte fans will be wondering who will now be leading the bench celebrations after big plays, Adrien’s presence in that department will be missed.
Overall: B
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have somehow, unimaginably got worse, how you ask? Well, they wanted to get out of Gary Neal’s contract to achieve maximum flexibility for the 2014 free agency and decided to take on an expiring in Sessions and a borderline NBA calibre guy like Jeff Adrien. The move took a little time to go through as it had to be approved by the Bucks owner Herb Kohl, but they eventually managed to bring back Sessions to his former stomping ground. Sessions may actually prove to be fairly effective in Milwaukee, he is able to manufacture his own offence which is a good thing, as the Buck’s offensive system isn’t too great at getting people “in their spots”. If Sessions were to resign in Milwaukee this off season the trade would simply be Neal for Sessions, which due to the fit of the roster would probably be fair for both sides (If Neal can re discover the form he had in his San Antonio days). The success of this trade will ultimately be seen when we see what the Bucks do with the extra CAP space this offseason.
Overall: B
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