From the Associated Press:
The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Ramon Sessions, after the Milwaukee Bucks declined to match their $16 million, four-year contract offer to the restricted free agent.
The 6-foot-3 Sessions averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 assists and 27.5 minutes last season for the Bucks. The 23-year-old had 12 20-point games, and his assist-to-turnover ratio was ninth best in the NBA.
From the Star Tribune:
“[It’s] basically a dream come true,” Sessions said from Miami in a phone interview with the Sun News of Myrtle Beach, S.C. “I was losing sleep over it early on. Minnesota is a great organization. I’m excited about the opportunity.”
Kahn said Sessions fits into the development plan he has for the Wolves.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Ramon to the Timberwolves,” Kahn said. “Ramon has already demonstrated the ability to play significant minutes at the NBA level, yet is only 23. We believe, like our team, his best days are ahead of him.”
The Bucks were not expected to match the offer sheet for the 23-year-old Sessions, who vastly improved last season to become one of the better young point guards in the league. Matching the offer sheet would have put Milwaukee over the luxury tax threshhold for next season, forcing them to pay a dollar penalty for every dollar they were over the threshhold.
“We are not going to match the Ramon Sessions offer sheet,” Bucks general manager John Hammond said. “As always we will be diligent in looking to improve our roster. We wish Ramon the very best.”
Minnesota quickly turned its attentions to Sessions after failing to sign Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, the fifth overall pick in the June draft. The Timberwolves offered Sessions the multiyear deal he had been seeking, starting with a $3.7 million salary in the first year and escalating to $4.6 in the final year of the contract, which is a player option.
From Marc Stein/ESPN:
The Wolves have been adamant that they will wait two years for Rubio if necessary. But Rubio’s decision to sign with Barcelona when the perennial Spanish powerhouse offered to pay his entire $5 million buyout with DJK Joventut, coupled with Sessions’ arrival, only figures to encourage teams interested in Rubio — such as the New York Knicks — to try to pry him away from Minnesota via trade.
Sessions was courted for much of the summer by the Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. But both teams were reluctant to commit long-term deals to the 23-year-old.
Sessions was courted for much of the summer by the Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. But both teams were reluctant to commit long-term deals to the 23-year-old.
Sessions would seem to be a nice fit for the Timberwolves because of his ability to play both guard spots. At 6-foot-3, Sessions has the size to defend two-guards, which will likely come in handy considering he’ll be paired in the backcourt for long stretches with 6-foot-0 rookie Jonny Flynn.
Sessions’ versatility could make him a key contributor this season. The 6-foot-3 guard also had 12 assists in his career performance against Detroit. He led the Bucks last season in assists.
We haven’t checked Kevin Love’s Twitter feed for some time. If readers remember, our favorite Timberwolves forward gave us plenty of laughs with his 140-character takes on the Spanish Jonas. But something happened at the end of the summer, we don’t know what it is, but we do know the Big Twitter has gone tweetless since August 14th. Since he’s the only twitter feed we read, Twitter is now dead to us.
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