Seven Days

Paul Imig Posted: Sept. 8, 2009

Michael Sears (MJS)

With less than a month before the start of training camp, Ramon Sessions got the contract offer that he had been waiting for all summer, but not from the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Clippers as had been expected in recent months.

As first reported by Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday morning, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Sessions to a four-year, $16 million offer sheet, with a player option for the fourth season.

That’s when Bucks general manager John Hammond got the phone call that gave movie-goers a scare in the fall of 2002: “Seven days.”

If those seven days pass and Milwaukee declines to match the Timberwolves’ offer, the decision to not retain Sessions could have a similar impact on Bucks fans as the girl in the well from “The Ring” did to America‘s youth, creating nightmares in the Bucks re-building plans.

After drafting Brandon Jennings and acquiring Roko Ukic in the Carlos Delfino deal, Milwaukee has added two point guards to compete for minutes with Luke Ridnour, who started 50 games for the Bucks in 2008-’09. Add in the fact that the shooting guard position is equally as crowded, with Michael Redd returning from injury, Jodie Meeks being drafted, and Charlie Bell returning, and the stage appears to be set for Sessions to spend the next three to four years of his career in Minnesota.

But Hammond does have options. He can go the route of Otis Smith and the Orlando Magic, who retained Marcin Gortat earlier this off-season after the Dallas Mavericks signed him to an offer sheet. Gortat will likely only average 10 minutes a game in Orlando with Dwight Howard patrolling the paint, but assuming that Gortat keeps playing at a fairly high level, he could be an excellent asset for the Magic to have at the trading deadline or next summer if a team is in need of a center.

Similarly, retaining Sessions could be a valuable asset. He doesn’t have to necessarily be a part of Milwaukee’s long-term plan for the Bucks to match the offer sheet. It’s safe to assume that the New York Knicks, who gave strong indication all summer that Mike D’Antoni would like to have Sessions running his offense in the near future, would be interested in a trade for Sessions next summer after they go after the loaded 2010 free agent class.

Hammond can also look to find a team interested in Ridnour and attempt to trade him, which could save the Bucks around $1.5 million if traded for a player or combination of players making around the allowed amount of a little over $5 million, given Ridnour’s $6.5 million salary for 2009-’10. This would open up minutes at the point guard position, and could take some pressure off of Jennings in his rookie season. And most importantly, if Hammond could get around $5 million in contracts back for Ridnour, Milwaukee would be less than $1 million over the dreaded luxury tax line if they matched Sessions’ offer sheet.

The clock is ticking for Hammond and the Bucks as they explore all options this week, with the very real possibility that both Sessions and Charlie Villanueva leave Milwaukee in the same off-season without getting anything in return. We’ll know for sure in seven days.

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Seven Days

Michael Sears (MJS)