Yesterday, we told you the Wizards had interest in Derrick Rose, who recently waived by the Jazz. They are also talking to another veteran point guard about filling the void left by John Wall‘s injury.
The team has been in contact with Ramon Sessions ever since he was waived by the Knicks last month, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Sessions has recent experience in Washington, spending a season and a half there after being traded to the Wizards in 2015.
The 31-year-old signed with New York in August, but was released when the team needed a roster spot to add former Wizards guard Trey Burke. Sessions appeared in just 13 games for the Knicks, averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 assists. He has been with eight teams in an 11-year career.
The Wizards may need to act quickly, as their top two active point guards were both banged up in Saturday’s game. Tim Frazier suffered a nasal fracture and Tomas Satoransky was taken to the locker room after a violent collision that resulted in an ejection for Chicago’s Bobby Portis. Satoransky offered a social media update on his condition this morning, saying he’s “relatively OK despite the hard crash.” (Twitter link)
Washington is more than $3MM above the luxury tax line, so it needs to economize in its search. That will probably discourage a claim on Rose, who will be on waivers through tomorrow afternoon. ESPN’s Bobby Marks explained (via Twitter) that a waiver claim would cost the Wizards $2.4MM in tax penalties, opposed to $800K by waiting to sign him as a free agent. There could be competition for Rose in the free agent market, though, as the Timberwolves are also rumored to be interested.
John Wall had knee surgery at the end of January and isn’t expected back until mid- to late March.