A hat tip to citizen Paper Clip, who linked Alan Hahn's latest blog post in the Fanshots a couple of hours ago.
As has frequently been the case for weeks now, the most significant part of this latest missive is the admission that no one really knows much, and those things that we said we knew before, well, turns out those things were wrong.
However, as it happens, the current info from Hahn at least makes some amount of logical sense, which is a decided improvement.
Contrary to what he said yesterday when he stated that there was a standing offer from the Knicks to Sessions for $4M next season, with a second season at a lower rate, Hahn has now been told by his sources that in fact there is no offer on the table. So as opposed to a waiting game where Sessions is trying to see if he gets a better offer, instead we have a waiting game where he is looking for an offer of any kind. Moreover, the reality in New York is that given their overriding desire to clear significant cap space for 2010 (and bearing in mind that as an RFA Sessions can't sign an offer sheet for less than two seasons), there will be no offer to Sessions unless they can move another 2010 contract first. Given that the 2010 contracts they want to move belong to Jared Jeffries (owed $13.3M this season and next) and Eddy Curry (owed a whopping $21.8M), it all seems basically impossible.
And like I said, it actually finally makes some sense. The Knicks worked very hard to make their 2010 cap space a reality, against long odds. They moved Zach Randolph, they moved Jamal Crawford, hell, they even moved Jerome James which must have required a fork lift at least. Were they really going to put that plan in jeopardy for the likes of Ramon Sessions? I mean, he's a nice enough player, but you don't move mountains (almost literally in the cases of Randolph and James) to clear all that 2010 cap space only to chew up $4M of it on a guy who, let's face it, is still a pretty big question mark.
So what's next? What is Sessions waiting for, if a Knicks offer is such a remote possibility?
Here's what I think (and again, it finally makes a little sense). As I've mentioned, I don't think the Bucks really want Sessions, but at the qualifying offer of about $1M next season he would seem to be a great bargain. So while Sessions and his people would love for the Bucks to rescind the QO (making him an unrestricted free agent and allowing him to sign a one year deal in New York, which the Knicks would gladly do), it's looking like that's not going to happen. We feel like this has been going on forever, but let's face it, there's still over a month before training camps open. Sessions is merely waiting to see if one of two things happens - if the Knicks can move a contract, or if the Bucks rescind the QO. Niether is likely, but he clearly wants to play in NY (which makes sense), so he's going to wait it out.
If nothing else has happened by the end of September, I'm guessing he'll sign an offer sheet with the Clippers. But he won't be the starter in LA, and he won't necessarily get all of the backup minutes with Telfair in town, so you can see why it's not his first choice.
At any rate, I think we have a while to wait yet. Sessions is waiting for a minor miracle. And the Clippers are just waiting.