Indians 19 Royals 1: Actaball At Its Finest
May 17, 2011NBA Draft Lottery Results May Dictate Length of Cavaliers Rebuilding Process
May 17, 2011Back in May, 2008, we featured a little series called “Re-Sign or Release” where we went through every player on the Cavaliers roster and turned to the readers to see what they would do if they were the general manager of the Wine and Gold and – hypothetically, of course – all of the players were up to have their respective contracts renewed.
Same hypothetical this time around: We’re looking to build for the future; all players are restricted free agents, likely requiring a bit of a pay raise from last season. Do you re-sign them? Andrew has already laid out the roadblocks currently facing the Cavaliers in 2011; now it’s your turn. Vote below and leave your support in the comments.
With Daniel Gibson keeping his roster spot by the skin of his teeth, leaving Anthony Parker as the lone man out, we turn to the final member of the backcourt with swingman Alonzo Gee. Like Parker and Manny Harris before him, Gee is in fact looking for a new contract this coming season. The rub is, will it be with the Cavs?
*****
2010-11 Salary: $508,130
2010-11 Statistics (with Cavaliers):
PTS | REB | AST | STL | TO | eFG% | TS% | PER | USG | WS |
7.4 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 49.8 | 55.2 | 11.1 | 14.6 | 1.0 |
2010-11 Recap: Following the release of Jawad Williams, the Cavaliers quickly hosted a multiplayer tryout and came away with an athletic wing player who could jump out of the gym, but one who also spent a good portion of his NBA career under the tutelage of Greg Popovich – a head coach who Byron Scott frequently lists among his pantheon of respected peers.
A lot of Gee’s game was unknown by Cavalier fans, but once implemented into the Cavaliers’ gameplan, Gee not only progressed offensively, but he managed to use his athleticism on the defensive end as well. A kid who would often settle for three-pointers or long two-point jumpshots, fans had the opportunity to watch Gee’s game mature through the course of the season, capitalized by the arrival of one Baron Davis; Gee was one of Davis’ students on the practice floor and during games.
At 23-years of age, Gee could very well be on his fourth team in as many seasons come 2011-12, but what he meant to the Cavaliers’ win total was statistically more than Manny Harris and Christian Eyenga provided combined, despite playing in more than twice as many games. Gee may never be anything more than a fourth or fifth option, and undoubtedly plays a position which the Cavaliers need a dire upgrade. But given his age and desire to improve, could he be in line for a depth-based spot among the final 15?
Re-Sign or Release: Daniel Gibson (58 percent say re-sign)
Re-Sign or Release: Baron Davis (84 percent say re-sign)
Re-Sign or Release: Christian Eyenga (95 percent say re-sign)
Re-Sign or Release: Anthony Parker (76 percent say release)
Re-Sign and Release: Ramon Sessions (87 percent say re-sign)
Re-Sign or Release: Manny Harris (68 percent say re-sign)
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David Liam Kyle/NBAE/Getty Images
6 Comments
Resign, because his contract is negligible & he did show some improvement this year. If he can become a good defender & decent offensive player, his athleticism would make him a good role player off the bench.
Re-sign, so I can watch him dunk….12th man, not a starter, but he can play.
Whatever. Aren’t there lots of these guys trying to latch onto an team? If coach cott wants him, I want him.
BTW, not sure how the frequent comment “his production improved when Baron Davis played” really increases the player’s value. If Davis is the rising tide that lifts all boats, that’s a compliment to the tide, not the boat.
“If Davis is the rising tide that lifts all boats, that’s a compliment to the tide, not the boat.”
Air doesn’t retain the floating capabilities once the water level declines. The human brain can – and typically does – retain knowledge. I didn’t mention Gee’s numbers when “playing” with Davis; the fact that Davis took Gee as a student and helped him learn the game more, whether BD was on the floor or not, is a pretty solid testament to Gee’s ability to process information and execute on it at a later time.
Scott, so your point is Gee is a smart kid that can benefit from a guy like Davis? A lot of young Cavs said that. I assume the next project center would feel that way as well. So my question was how that distinguishes Gee from a potential replacement. Was commenting that the “Davis-effect” is frequently cited, not just here, and I’m questioning how important that is in deciding to replace a player.
Re-sign him, release Manny Harris, then draft a SF.
I think Alonzo can be a good player but, not a starter. Use the 2nd 1st round pick on a SF and have Alonzo come off the bench on the cheap.
Another one of my, low risk, high reward players.