Alonzo Gee Deal
2012-08-18
According to Sam Amico, the Cavs and Alonzo Gee have agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth about $10 million. Alonzo established himself last year on the Cavs as a lock-down perimeter defender and vicious dunker, albeit one with a very limited offensive game. It’s always nice to see a D-League call-up finally make bank in the NBA, and Alonzo became somewhat of a fan favorite this year. Here’s the link.
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The ideal 7th or 8th man on a championship team can hit open 3’s and play solid defense. Gee seems like ideal-7th-or-8th-man-on-a-championship-team material to me.
Well, Ben my point still stands in relation to your first post and that is defensive metrics are still, by far, a work-in-progress and that while you called Gee an “average defender,” I think he is better than that and has NOT hit his ceiling on that end. Quite frankly, I don’t understand how anyone can claim he has hit his defensive ceiling as his athleticism is surely in the “plus” column and playing defense is athleticism mixed with mental acumen and experience. Gee should only get better in the next few years defensively. He is more athletic than Bowen,… Read more »
Someday, Alonzo Gee will average 18-20 minutes a game for us. I look forward to that day
Kevin hit the nail on the head. However, Gee is much younger than Delfino and Meeks is even less proven than Gee in my opinion, which made us pay a “premium” for Gee. It is always nice to see “our guy” getting rewarded with a fair deal.
The Casspi news seems to have been refuted rather quickly… I wouldn’t mind buying hit out – he just hasn’t seemed to fit in very well on the team, despite it looking like he actually tries to put in a good effort when he plays.
Sometimes I end up in debates with both Ben and Kj, even though we agree on the big picture. It appears you guys can do the same with each other. At this point, I think most Cavs fans agree that ideally Gee is not more than a 3rd wing, backing up both positions. There seems to be consensus that 3 years, $10 millie is a reasonable price to put at risk. The signing looks really good compared to some of the crazy contracts that were signed in early July. It looks a little rich compared to some of the contracts… Read more »
I agree with Ben. Lockdown defender, no? Potential “plus defender”, yes. I think we could have went a bit lower too, but any lower and we were risking him leaving as an UFA. But, also a great point was made that he could be used in a trade potentially. I think he has a lot of potential, but he has a 0% chance of being considered an All Star reserve, or 3-pt shootout invitee in his career. $3-$4M seems right, but there is a reason no one else offered him a decent contract.
@Kj, Obviously they can’t paint the whole picture but they are constantly being improved and if they were only relevant when we want them to be, then they wouldn’t exist. The point is that he isn’t a lock-down defender like people would like to believe. A “potentially plus” defender is very different than lock-down. He has had great games against guys with his build. He guards Wade well, for example, but gets totally torched by long guys like Granger and Gay. That’s fine, he can be a solid bench player for us. He will never morph into Bruce Bowen though.… Read more »
Ben, defensive metrics still have a long way to go and most guys like Hollinger, for instance, admit as such. What I saw with my eyes last year showed Gee to be a potentially plus defender. He also had some oustanding defensive games against big-time opponents. I am no way over-valuing Gee but defensive metrics are still inadequate to fully judge a defender…
Everyone can improve as a shooter, and since Gee has more of a future as a 3-and-D guy, that could significantly increase his value.
I hope the final year is a team option or partially guaranteed. Because unlike most of you i believe Gee is close or at his ceiling. He worked hard so I’m glad he got paid but his absolute ceiling that he will probably never achieve is michael pitreus which if he can achieve is useful but not a big deal
That whittles down the SF spot to Gee, Azubuike, and Miles, I guess. Probably a good thing, as I think all of those 3 have more potential than Casspi (although I’m not sure what the Cavs see in Miles).
John Telich, a reporter in Cleveland, says that the Cavs will likely buy out Omri Casspi, and says it is a mutual desire.
Source:
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If he can shoot 35%+ on 3’s, I have no problem with him playing 20 minutes off the bench for us long-term. Of course, that still leaves us without a starter at SF…In a perfect world, Azubuike would return to his pre-injury form (45% 3 point shooter and solid defender) and fill that hole. In reality, that should be item #1 on the Cavs shopping list next summer.
Decent contract for him and ok from us. We actually could have gone lower, especially considering his metrics paint a very different picture of him than we often think. In short, he is by no means a lockdown defender. He tries hard, has success against players of similar builds, but he is actually only an average defender and has a hard time against long 2s and 3s… In any case, for that contract, and with his work ethic, I have no problem.
Plus, quite frankly, he’s another tradeable asset if the Cavs find themselves in another big trade scenario. I applaud Grant and co. for sticking w/the plan…
3 years and $10 is almost no-risk given Cleveland’s current cap situation. Good signing. We’ll see if Gee can build on his play from the first half of last season.
I totally agree. Continuity is important for a young squad, and I think Gee can keep getting better.
I’m happy to see things progressing on the Gee front. He is a valuable asset with his D and attitude and has improved yearly as a player for the Cavs. At the amount of money he will be getting I don’t see how the Cavs can go wrong by signing him. One important thing he brings is continuity. Red Auerbach used to talk about s group of players having to play together for about three years to reach their full potential as a group. It is nice to see the Cavs be in a position to start having some players… Read more »