NBA Trade Speculation: Should LA Lakers Pair Kobe Bryant with Ramon Sessions?

The Los Angeles Lakers' greatest need lies at the point guard position, a fact that has taken a backseat to exploring avenues leading toward Dwight Howard.

Are the Lakers targeting a big man over a floor general because they are fiercely loyal to Derek Fisher? Or perhaps is it because Los Angeles is that unhappy with the inconsistency of the volatile Andrew Bynum?

While it could be a little of both, it is mainly because it's easier for the Lakers to assemble an adequate package for a prolific center than it would be a point guard. When it comes to trade bait, Bynum holds more weight than the likes of Fisher or Steve Blake.

Los Angeles may be in panic mode after what transpired this past postseason, but that is no reason to go name-chasing instead of filling a more significant void, especially when they have options.

Unless the Lakers are willing to deal Bynum for the likes of Chris Paul, a top-five point guard is out of the question.

But what about Ramon Sessions?

Sessions has been on the chopping block from the moment he arrived in Cleveland. Now, with the Cavaliers boasting a plethora of players in the backcourt, he could be had at a reasonable price once the lockout is over.

Last season, Sessions averaged 13.3 points, 5.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is extremely unselfish, but will still find ways to score. He is also quite the playmaker, and while undersized, he can even play minutes as a shooting guard.

Kobe Bryant needs a youthful running mate in the backcourt. At 33, he can no longer carry the burden on his own there. He needs an athletic floor general who can put the ball in his hands at the right moment, rather than constantly creating for himself.

Fisher, although he would be a solid backup, does not have much left in the tank. His ability to direct this offensive unit to a championship has disappeared, and Blake will never be a leader of any sorts. Sessions, given the opportunity, can be.

Sessions has played for three different teams in his four-year career, a remarkable number when you consider how talented he is. Despite his clear abilities, he always seems to find himself on a team that already has its point guard of the future in place. With the Lakers, he could now be that point guard of the future.

Why Sessions though? After all, isn't T.J. Ford a viable option?

That is correct, and while he may come cheap and is fully capable of reviving his career, the prospect of a point guard having to revive his career is unsettling. In Sessions, we have a 25-year-old still coming into his own, not a 28-year-old trying to recapture some lost swagger.

Bryant is a difficult athlete to please, yet this is exactly why Sessions may be such a good fit. He is humble and will not disrupt the poetry in motion that is Bryant's rhythm. The same cannot be said of Ford or Howard.

Remember the days of Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal? Their championships were marred by controversy because their egos were constantly at odds. Why should a pairing with Howard prove any different?

Bryant works well with Pau Gasol because he is soft-spoken and understated, but he has already clashed with Bynum because the big man boasts a prominent attitude and so does Howard.

Howard may not be as egotistical as Shaq or Bynum, but he is just as outspoken. Yes, Bryant has matured, but he has never seemed to mesh well with a high-profile center. The last thing the Lakers need is to chase an acquisition that they think resolves one issue only to create another.

The Lakers may have to dangle Lamar Odom as trade bait to bring a Sessions deal to fruition, but they have already proven willing to do that anyway. While the Cavs already have Tristan Thompson as a forward of the future, Odom's veteran production would be welcomed, especially as Antawn Jamison seems poised to enter oblivion any day now.

No, Los Angeles isn't getting Monta Ellis or Howard in return, but they are getting an athlete who won't clash with the likes of its franchise player.

Sessions will embrace the chance to not only assume a spot beside Bryant, but to take on a stable role at all. Who knows, under Bryant's tutelage and the sheer notion his presence is actually desired, Sessions could blossom into a star all his own.

That's an avenue worth exploring.