“We don’t think they’re going to match,” Wells told FanHouse on Wednesday. “That would put them in luxury-tax territory. I feel pretty confident that they’re not going to match.”
Wells said he has been in regular contact with Bucks general manager John Hammond. While Hammond said no final decision has been on Sessions, he did say the Bucks do not plan to exceed the luxury-tax threshold of $69.92 million this season, meaning they would need to make a deal to shed salary in order to match the offer sheet.
If they trade him for “The Buck Shot’’ and then release Buckner, they drop around $3 mil more below the cap.
If Milwaukee can slip that far below the cap, they can re-involve themselves in the retention of Ramon Sessions, their restricted FA who has signed an offer sheet with Minnesota. They can afford to keep Sessions to do with what they wish — but they would have to make their decision to retain Sessions by Friday, meaning they’d have to complete this room-creating deal before that time.
The only thing that is really for sure when it comes to Flynn is that he must continue to be flexible. That flexibility is going to the key to any success he has a rookie.
With their actions and words, all have demonstrated that draft picks and cap space rule their long-term strategy. In each city, a few wins here or there may be nice in the short term, but nothing is more important than the development of key young players. If Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, James Harden, Russell Westbrook begin to really matter in the NBA, the Thunder will matter, too. In Minnesota, Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love and Al Jefferson will determine the fate of the franchise, much like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden do in Portland.
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