Worried that he could be traded, Sessions opted out of the final year of his contract. Even if he hadn’t, Sessions believed the Lakers could have dealt him to get a marquee point guard in free agency like Steve Nash or Deron Williams in a sign-and-trade deal.

“It was one of those situations I looked at like, ‘If I do come back what if they trade me?’ ” Sessions said. “There were talks about getting Deron. They always wanted the bigger-named guy. What if I get traded to a team and it’s my contract year? It was one of those things that I can’t say if I opted in, [Nash] wouldn’t have come. They still might have tried to get him. You just never know.”

Sessions said the Bobcats aggressively pursued him from the moment free agency began. Charlotte had the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106) during the lockout-shortened season. Still, Sessions enthusiastically agreed join the Bobcats, who are close to his hometown of Myrtle Beach, S.C. New Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said Sessions will be counted on to lead this season. The Lakers have replaced Sessions with a veteran point guard who can live up to Bryant’s demands in Nash.

via Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports