NBA Rumors: Role Player Ramon Sessions Won't Make Lakers Contenders

The Lakers need more than a backup point guard to become a legitimate contender. Yet, this seems to be their current focus. 

With the recent rib injury of guard Steve Blake, the Lakers' already abysmal point-guard situation got worse. 

With Blake on the shelf, the Lakers ball-handling duties are left to nearly senior citizen-qualified Derek Fisher and rookies Andrew Goudelock and Darrius Morris. This is far south of ideal, and it has the Lakers scrambling for a quick-fix option. 

The Rumors

Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski dishes on the latest rumor: 

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The Los Angeles Lakers have talked with the Cleveland Cavaliers about possibly acquiring guard Ramon Sessions, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

No deal is imminent, but the Lakers view Sessions as a candidate who could help their depleted backcourt.

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That is not all the tires they are kicking, either. They have also reportedly pondered adding Gilbert Arenas.

The Error of This Strategy

While Sessions is an infinitely better option than Arenas, he is not the answer. Arenas is a shoot-first point guard. That is not what the Lakers need. Los Angeles needs a ball distributor who can play some defense. An outside shooting touch would be nice a bonus. 

Sessions is only one of those things. He can distribute the rock, and he is solid in the pick and roll, but he can't shoot and is awful on defense.

Sessions will have a hard time finding playing time once Blake returns. Do the Lakers really need a point guard that isn't any better than the below-average ones they already have? Not in the long term they don't.

This move may be nice for their immediate future, but it does little for them down the road, and that is where the Lakers' sights need to be set.

They need to save all of their assets towards executing a trade to that end. Sessions would likely cost them draft picks and lead to them using their trade exception.

LA must hold onto that as they try to pursue a trade for the likes of Dwight Howard or Deron Williams. That is the kind of trade that will energize this team and give them a foundation for the future, and that is what they need.