Sessions wants to compete for a job

By Jodie Valade

Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

When Ramon Sessions heard he was traded to the Cavaliers, the point guard’s first call was to his agent.

His second was to his best friend, Mo Williams.

Once, Sessions was a young kid learning from his mentor when the two played together in Milwaukee. They’re reunited now in Cleveland — and ecstatic about it — thanks to a trade that brought Sessions and 7-foot center Ryan Hollins to the Cavaliers from Minnesota. The Cavaliers sent Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to the Timberwolves, and also received a second-round pick in the 2013 draft.

Sessions is now 24, a point guard who signed a four-year, $16 million deal with Minnesota last season to be the Timberwolves’ playmaker. It didn’t work out as well as anyone expected, but with a fresh start in Cleveland, Sessions made clear that he isn’t going to sit back and watch his best pal take the job he’d like.

“Me and Mo are best friends, but we’re gonna compete,” Sessions said Thursday. “It’s not going to be something where I just come in and let him get off easy since he was my mentor coming up. I’m going to come in and compete and play hard.”

Both Sessions and Hollins said they are excited to join the Cavaliers and fit in with new coach Byron Scott’s up-tempo offense.

“When we did research and were watching film on both these guys we saw a lot of good things, some of the extreme positives of guys running and playing with energy,” Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant said.

Sessions, who averaged 8.2 points on career-high 45.6 shooting percentage last season, is prepared to not only compete with Williams for the starting point guard slot, but also play with him. Though Sessions is 6-3 and Williams is 6-1, the newcomer has faith that a small and speedy backcourt could be effective. That’s how he had to play in Milwaukee with fellow guard, 6-2 Luke Ridnour, two years ago.

“I guarded the [shooting guard] and played the [point guard],” Sessions said. “Whatever [Scott] wants me to do, I’ll do. I’m just happy to be here and however it works out, it works out.”

Grant is optimistic about how lanky center Hollins will fit in with Scott’s fast-paced offense, too. Last season, the 25-year-old Hollins had a career-best 6.1 points, shooting 56 percent from the field.

“Having somebody like that on our roster who has that length and athleticism and does a nice job of running the floor was important to us,” Grant said.