The Alonzo Gee saga is where bad process meets questionable results

yuck… this franchise is poop

This is why I keep banging on the same drum. It’s time to sweep clean.

I still feel like this is just another indication of a front office with it’s head up it’s collective ass. I hated the Arenas contract. I hated the Jamison contract. But at least those could be laid at the feet of Abe Pollin. That’s what I told myself anyway. This though? Letting a kid walk who is exactly what you should be looking for, as far as the current team and the future go, is just freakin ridiculous. 500 grand is an issue? Really? Honestly, I hope that they tried and he said no because he knew he had a gig with the Spurs. That’s only way I can swallow this.

GRUNFELD GO GRUNFELD GO GRUNFELD GO

Gee was never going to be an all-star. He could have been an important role player on a playoff team, but that was his ceiling. This move shows the front office has no semblance of a long-term plan and makes moves that defy logic. This is similar to not drafting Dejuan Blair with our 2nd round pick and then signing Oberto for 2 times his salary. I am sick of Ernie (and the Pollins if they are truly influencing these moves). Here’s to Leonsis cleaning house when he officially buys the team.

Considering the first order of business is to tank, tank, tank. The reason EG had to do this is that Gee was playing TOO well. He might actually have helped us win a game! Which we absolutely do NOT need right now. Plus, although Gee was playing well, he was never going to be awesome or anything…wings like him in the NBA are a dime a dozen. Really.

I really hope Mr Leonis cleans house and EG gets handed his walking papers. Alonzo Gee showed that he is a player who deserves to be playing in this league. What more could you be looking for out a D-League player? We should be using the D league to unearth hidden gems who could be players for this team, Alonzo Gee is exactly that type of player and we let him get away, just to replace him with another D-Leaguer. This just shows me that none of these D-Leaguers coming in matter, doesn’t matter how they play, doesn’t matter how much potential they have, EG just wants a cheap body out there, doesn’t matter if he’s good bad or in between, all these D-Leaguers are placeholders, and thats a shame .

In the big picture, I think Gee was worth keeping around at a minimum contract and I’m very disappointed that we did not keep him under the current circumstances (worth keeping as a 12th man on next year’s roster).

But there are a few leaps of faith here:

1) Gee had lots of upside, but he seemed like he was going to need a lot more development before he was ready for prime time. He was fine for a team that was on a 15 game losing steak, but not for a winning team. He was only 22. As Prada noted, promising 22 year old wings are everywhere.

2) There is an assumption that the Wizards were caught sleeping…and I’m not sure that’s the case. If Gee has a remotely competent agent, the agent would do everything in his power to get the Wizards to match the deal since Gee will ride the pine in San Antonio through the duration of the contract. Perhaps the Wizards simply declined to offer a partial guarantee and he left for a better contract. Not saying that was the right or wrong move, but perhaps things are being blown out of proportion.

The Wizards won’t have anywhere near 23-25million in cap space, just so you know.

With a projected 53million cap, the Wizards would have a maximum of 18.5million in space, assuming they rescind everyone who isn’t on a guaranteed contract. If Quinton Ross opts out of his deal, that’d add another 800k or so.

http://www.hoopdata.com/salaries/was.aspx

All of the information is there, including the various cap holds the Wizards have to account for in addition to their guaranteed contracts (draft picks and roster holds).

Regardless, signing Gee to a minimum contract for next season would’ve taken away approximately 189,000 in cap space from the Wizards, as his $762k contract would’ve replaced the $474k minimum contract hold the Wizards would’ve had anyway (they have a few).

In short, this move really didn’t preserve any cap space at all, and anyone who suggests otherwise likely has a specious understanding of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the salary cap rules.

Sham only lists guaranteed salaries. Like I said, cap space is calculated AFTER accounting for roster holds, in this case first round picks and minimum contract roster holds, which amount to approximately $5million extra (or more if the Wizards move up in the lottery). Like I said, it’s all listed in the link.

Reading the arguments pro & con Gee…but I can’t help missing such a promising young
player. I’m not so sure that what we saw is Gee’s ceiling. Hooo, Man! Look here. If
wings like Gee are a dime a dozen, thaen the Wizards oughta go get one!!!!!

@ Mike and Scott,

The logic of all of this don’t quite add up for me. Your articles initially seem to indicate that the Wiz goofed and failed to offer Gee a contract, but later it seems more like they just declined to. Or if they did make an offer, it was only after his 10-day expired, and Gee decided to choose SA instead. They locked up Livingston right as his second 10-day expired, so it seems unlikely to me (but it’s certainly possible) that they just goofed. Any sense at all that anyone in the organization wasn’t sold on Gee?

Questions I have on 10-day procedure.
1) I know agents with players under normal contracts cannot talk to other teams…does that apply to agents of 10-day players?

2) What happens to a 10-day player’s rights if he declines to sign an offer to play for them for the rest of the season?

Just wondering if Gee gave any indication that he might prefer to play for the Spurs, so they cut him loose, or they made him an offer and he declined? It seems unlikely to me that any D-Leaguer would do that without some sort of understanding that he would be picked up by the Spurs. Given his prior connection to them, just curious if there are any murmurs of something prearranged.

Or if the Wizards in their inimitable wisdom, either just decided to pass — which would be strange based on Flip’s prior statements — or maybe figured he was safe and no one else was interested. Certainly the Cap argument that Flip floated makes zero sense. It sounds like cover for something else, like maybe they goofed, or maybe that they did make an offer and he declined.

could this be the result of a power play between Grunfeld and Saunders. Perhaps Ernie was unhappy that Flip said that they would sign Gee for the rest of the season. These two might be jockeying to get the new owner’s ear.

maybe there are circumstances that we don’t know about, like maybe Gee told the wiz he had no intention of signing here for more than the two ten-day contracts?

Like maybe he’d rather play for a winner/contender?

Like maybe he was more comfortable with the overall situation in SA?

Like maybe he was more comfortable with the coaching staff in SA?

Like maybe he’s slotted to be Ginobili’s replacement at some point? Or maybe he has some other pre-defined role waiting for him next year in SA?

Like maybe there are some things that the wiz brass can’t do, like make a player sign a contract against his will?

I dont think we will forget Gee, he is going to be a valuable asset off the bench. He reminds me of a stronger Nelson but no PG position and a better ability to score. i thought he had some muscle on him to which is what we need since we have a lack of size or strength at times.