To continue the discussion from last night and today's recap, I decided to try to make the argument that going after Ramon Sessions and letting Nate walk may be more beneficial than signing Nate to a long-term deal.

If you take a look at the stats, Sessions PER numbers this season are nothing to scoff at:

16.7 ppg, 6.4 ast, 4.4 reb, 1.4 stl, 45% FG

Those numbers are pretty much a wash when compared with Nate's:

17.9 ppg, 4.0 ast, 2.7 reb, 1.5 stl, 45% FG

PROS: Sessions turns just 23 in April and only made $424K this year. He's 6'3, and can play defense.  Not that Nate is the worst defender in the world, but his height is certainly a glaring flaw. 

CONS: Sessions is NOT a three-point shooter. In fact, he's just 6-33 for the entire season (Nte probably shoots 33 three-pointers a week).  Also, his dunks aren't as cool.

Considering that he made $427K this year, i'm assuming (emphasis on "assuming") that Sessions shouldn't demand much more than about $6M on a short deal, maybe three years or so at $2M per. That's a big drop-off from Nate, who should command anywhere from $5-7M per year. I'd like to re-sign Nate, but the organization has to keep the blueprints for 2010 intact. If you can get a player with similar production for one-third (or even one-fourth) of the cost, it makes sense.

It's at least something to consider.