Alonzo Gee Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Re-Sign Alonzo Gee

July 22nd, 2016 at 11:03am CST by Will Joseph

JULY 22: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Gee, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JULY 21: The Pelicans and Alonzo Gee have agreed on a one-year deal worth $1.4MM, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter). Shams Charania of The Vertical recently reported that the two sides were close to striking an agreement.

Gee opted out of his previous contract with the Pelicans earlier this month. He would have earned about $1.379MM in 2016/17 if he had exercised his option, so this is only a slight increase. Still, judging by the amount of money tossed around this summer, it seemed like a logical decision for Gee.

Gee, 29, made 38 starts and appeared in 73 games for New Orleans last season. He averaged only 4.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG. Gee is a solid defender and a decent role player, however. His season ended after he suffered a ruptured right quadriceps muscle.

Pelicans, Alonzo Gee Finalizing One-Year Deal

July 20th, 2016 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Less than a month after opting out of his previous contract with the Pelicans, Alonzo Gee is on the verge of signing a new deal with the team. Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter) that Gee and the Pelicans are finalizing a one-year contract, aiming to complete it within the next day or so.

Gee, 29, appeared in 73 games for New Orleans last season, starting 38 of those contests. His numbers were modest, as he averaged just 4.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG. However, he continued to provide value on defense and was efficient when given an opportunity on the offensive end (.518 FG%). Gee’s season ended a little early due to a ruptured right quadriceps muscle.

Last month, Gee was one of several players around the NBA to decline his player option in order to test the open market. The Alabama product would have earned about $1.379MM in 2016/17 if he had exercised his option, which was just a little more than his minimum salary. So unless his new deal is for the minimum, or it’s not fully guaranteed, it was probably the right call for him to opt out.

The Pelicans have yet to finalize the free agent contracts they’ve agreed to so far this month, so it remains to be seen how exactly they’ll manage their cap situation. Even after factoring in the reported terms on deals for Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, and other free agents, the team does appear to have a modest chunk of cap room left over, so we’ll see how much – if any – of that space is used for Gee.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Alonzo Gee Declines Player Option

June 29th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans small forward Alonzo Gee has elected to decline his player option for 2016/17 and will become an unrestricted free agent as a result, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link). Gee was set to earn $1,379,400 next season.

The swingman appeared in 73 games this past season for the Pelicans and averaged 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 22.4 minutes per outing. His slash line on the campaign was .518/.283/.667.

Gee, who finished the season in street clothes courtesy of a ruptured right quadriceps muscle, enters the open market at a good time given the surge in the salary cap to approximately $94MM. It remains to be seen what teams will be interested in his services given his struggles from beyond the three-point arc. However, the 29-year-old remains a strong defender and could slot in nicely on a contending team’s bench.

Southwest Rumors: Rockets, Gentile, Gee, Dirk

June 21st, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Italian wing Alessandro Gentile, whose NBA rights are held by the Rockets, is very interested in making the leap to the NBA this year now that Mike D’Antoni is the new head coach in Houston, as he tells Adrian Wojnarwoski of The Vertical. “My goal is to play in the NBA next year,” Gentile told The Vertical. “I really hope this can happen. For me, Mike D’Antoni is like a legend in Italian basketball, an example for everyone. For him to coach me would be very, very nice.”

While the Rockets have “significant interest” in signing Gentile, according to Wojnarowski, the team may wait to see what happens at the start of July’s free agent period before negotiating a deal with the 23-year-old. It’s also possible that Houston could trade his rights, if the team “becomes hesitant or financially unwilling” to lock him up — in that scenario, Gentile would still want to come stateside. “My dream is that I want to play in Houston with Mike D’Antoni,” Gentile said. “If that’s not possible, my goal is to still play in the NBA next year.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest:

The Rockets don’t have a first-round draft pick this year, but general manager Daryl Morey thinks they should be able to get back into the first round if they want to. “I think it will be pretty easy to trade (our) picks into the first this year,” Morey tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “There are four teams that have almost half the draft in the first round, and none of them wants to use their pick to trade. Trading in will be easy.” On Monday, we looked at the five teams that control 14 of this year’s 30 first-round picks.
The deadline for Alonzo Gee to make his decision on his player option for 2016/17 had previously been reported as June 21st, but Brett Dawson of The Advocate tweets that the Pelicans forward will actually have until June 27th to pick up or decline that option.
The Pelicans haven’t been shy about dealing first-round picks for veteran players in the past, and general manager Dell Demps hasn’t ruled out the possibility of doing it again with the No. 6 overall selection this year. ESPN’s Justin Verrier examines the pros and cons of trading the pick for New Orleans.
In the wake of a report indicating that the Warriors may attempt to court Dirk Nowitzki in free agency, Mavericks guard Devin Harris tells Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, “I don’t think the big German is going anywhere.” Nowitzki has opted out of his contract, but is still considered likely to re-sign with Dallas.
Matt Bonner is eligible for free agency this summer, but the 36-year-old veteran hopes to play another year with the Spurs, as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News details.

Western Notes: Walton, Pelicans, Gallinari, Paul

March 29th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors assistant Luke Walton is reportedly poised to become a top candidate for the Knicks coaching vacancy, and the Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Kings are expected to target him, too, but former colleague Alvin Gentry thinks Walton still doesn’t gets the credit he deserves, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Gentry, now head coach of the Pelicans, was on Golden State’s staff last year with Walton, who inherited Gentry’s role as lead assistant and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgeries. “Luke did an unbelievable job of managing egos, of rotations he played,” Gentry said. “Everything that happened there, he pushed the right buttons, so I was disappointed when people said anybody can coach that team. That’s not true at all. He has an unbelievable understanding of the game. I think [Knicks president] Phil [Jackson] knows that. [Luke] stayed in the league for a long time because of the basketball IQ he has. He gets along great with players. He’s going to be a terrific coach in the league – I really do think that.”

See more from the Western Conference:

Jrue Holiday and Alonzo Gee are out for the rest of the season, which ends two weeks from Wednesday, the Pelicans announced. That means seven New Orleans players are finished for 2015/16. Holiday, who fractured his orbital bone, and Gee, who ruptured a right quadriceps muscle, join Anthony Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Tyreke Evans on the shelf for the year. Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole are also dealing with less severe injuries, the team said.
Danilo Gallinari doesn’t expect to play again this season for the Nuggets, as he said in an interview with Sky Sport of Italy (video link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Coach Michael Malone told reporters early this month that the team was thinking about shutting him down even if he recovered before season’s end from the two torn ligaments he suffered in his right ankle February 26th. Denver has since signed Axel Toupane for the balance of the season and beyond.
Chris Paul won’t play for Team USA in the Olympics this year, telling Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins that he’s withdrawing his name from consideration for the squad. “I feel my body telling me that I could use the time,” the 30-year-old said. Paul can opt out of his contract with the Clippers after next season.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Gee, Weber, Matthews

March 21st, 2016 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

The season-ending injuries that limited Anthony Davis to just 61 games this year could cost the Pelicans‘ star a lot of money, according to Micah Adams and Michael Schwartz of ESPN.com. When Davis agreed to his five-year extension last summer worth an estimated $145MM, he became subject to the “Rose Rule.” That allows players with six years’ experience or fewer, who are normally eligible for a maximum salary worth 25% of the cap, to earn as much as players with seven to nine years’ experience, who can receive up to 30% of the cap. But to reach that standard, they have to either be named league MVP, be voted as an All-Star starter twice or be elected twice to the All-NBA first, second or third team before the best extension kicks in. Davis has virtually no chance of being MVP this season and he didn’t start in the All-Star game, but he does have a shot at making one of the all-league teams. If Davis fails to meet the criteria, his total deal will fall to an estimated $121MM.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Pelicans teammates are impressed that Davis battled through the pain of the torn labrum in his left shoulder for so long before the combination of it and a knee injury shut down his season, writes John Reid of The New Orleans Times-Picayune. ”He was still banging and defending with an injured shoulder,” said Alonzo Gee. ”It says a lot about him.”
To make room for Jordan Farmar, who is expected to sign a 10-day contract, the Grizzlies parted ways with point guard Briante Weber, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Memphis created a roster opening by not re-signing Weber when his 10-day contract expired Friday. Winderman notes that Weber will be eligible for the postseason if another team picks him up.
Portland coach Terry Stotts wasn’t surprised that former Blazer Wesley Matthews was ready for opening night after suffering an Achilles rupture last spring, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. The shooting guard, who signed with the Mavericks over the summer, returned from the injury months sooner that most players do. “Because of that injury, it’s a surprise,” Stotts said. “Because it’s Wes, no. He said that he was going to be back for the opening game and he was. In my time with Wes, there’s one thing I learned: Not to count him out.”

Western Notes: Gay, Price, Brown, Williams

January 15th, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings and Pelicans are continuing trade talks focused on Rudy Gay, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The latest report is that Sacramento is refusing to accept New Orleans’ offer of Eric Gordon and Alonzo Gee. The Pelicans reportedly turned down an offer of Gay for Ryan Anderson earlier this week. In November, Gay signed a three-year, $40MM extension with the Kings, with a player option on the final season in 2017/18. Gordon is making more than $15.5MM in the final year of his contract, while Gee inked a two-year, $2.75MM free agent deal with the Pelicans in July.

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

The Suns‘ Ronnie Price won’t be able to resume basketball activities for at least three weeks after having surgery on his right big toe, tweets Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Surgeons had to remove “loose bodies” from the toe. The veteran guard has appeared in 34 games this season.
The 10-day contracts signed by the Suns‘ Lorenzo Brown and the Grizzlies‘ Elliot Williams will both expire on Sunday, tweets former Nets executive Bobby Marks. He notes that both teams will have the option of offering a second 10-day contract.
The Rockets have recalled K.J. McDaniels from their Rio Grande Valley affiliate in the D-League, the team tweeted today. McDaniels has appeared in just 11 games with Houston after signing a three-year, $10MM deal in the offseason.

Southwest Notes: Withey, Cunningham, Green

January 13th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former 39th overall pick Jeff Withey is seeing significant minutes with the Jazz this season after a parting of ways with the Pelicans that cast him into uncertainty, as Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders details. Executives from other teams have speculated about whether the Pelicans dealt fairly with the center, who said GM Dell Demps told him during the playoffs that the team wanted him back, Dowsett reports. The team made a qualifying offer to him but withdrew it shortly before re-signing Alexis Ajinca, making Withey an unrestricted free agent and leaving him “really confused,” as he said to Dowsett. Withey ultimately landed with Utah on a partially guaranteed deal that last week became fully guaranteed for the rest of this season, and he’s pleased with his new surroudings.

“In New Orleans, it was a tough place for me, just because the coach [Monty Williams], he didn’t really give me a shot, you know what I mean?” Withey said to Dowsett. “Even if I was playing, if I screwed up one time or anything like that, he would just take me right out. Here, Coach [Quin Snyder], he’ll come to you … it’s just a different type of coaching. More player-friendly, for sure.”

Withey has one more year left on his deal, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season. See more on the Pelicans and the rest of the Southwest Division:

Dante Cunningham is shooting more 3-pointers than ever this season, and while he’s making a passable 30% of them, it’s still not enough to give the Pelicans the spacing necessary to prevent double teams on Anthony Davis, as John Reid of The Times Picayune examines. New Orleans re-signed Cunningham in the offseason to a three-year deal worth nearly $8.935MM. Backup and fellow offseason signee Alonzo Gee is nailing just 27.3% of his 3-point looks, compounding the absence of Pondexter, as Justin Verrier of ESPN.com examines.
The Raptors were one of the teams that pursued Danny Green this summer, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Given the four-year, $58MM deal that Toronto gave fellow wing player DeMarre Carroll, it seems Green was liable to end up with much more than the $40MM over four years he got from the Spurs, Harvey writes. However, unlike other places in the NBA, San Antonio affords him the comfort of knowing the team has a history of supporting him through slumps like the one he’s in now, as Harvey details.
Baron Davis, who’s set to play in the D-League, reportedly worked out for the Mavs recently, but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the notion and owner Mark Cuban clarified that the team has an “open door” as far as its D-League affiliate goes but doesn’t harbor NBA-level interest in him. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays Cuban’s comment.

Southwest Notes: Bickerstaff, D-League, Gee

November 24th, 2015 at 6:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes that the team has become more orderly in its approach since Kevin McHale was fired as head coach last week, Mark Berman of FOX 26 relays in a series of tweets. “Our attitude has changed over the last week and a half. We’ve taken a more serious approach to what we’re doing,” Bickerstaff said. “Guys are more disciplined in what we’re doing and they were hungry for that. That was the first thing they were calling for, some more discipline, some more structure, some more rules.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks intend to use their D-League affiliate to help get their younger players minutes this season, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Discussing Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri, who had been assigned to the Texas Legends recently, coach Rick Carlisle said, “It’s a positive to be able to send guys there to get game action. We’re going to do more of it. It’s a positive tool for our franchise and for those guys. It’s a win-win. In this instance they were able to play in the game last night and we got them here [Saturday night].”
Despite Alonzo Gee only averaging 3.5 points in 21.1 minutes per contest this season, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry considers the small forward a vital part of the team due to his defensive prowess, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”I know my role on the team and I try to focus on my role,” Gee said. ”You can’t really coach effort. I try to be the hardest-playing player on the floor. I’ve glad to be in that situation. That’s why I wanted to come here, I felt like it was an opportunity to play.”
Jazz camp cut Bryce Cotton, who currently plays for the Spurs‘ D-League affiliate in Austin, hopes to return to the NBA this season, and he believes that hustle and effort are his tickets back to the big league, writes Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. “Being called up last year and being blessed to finish the season [in Utah], I still didn’t feel like I could kind of sit back and coast,” Cotton said. “I still felt like I needed [to prove a lot]. I wanted to work as hard as I could, but unfortunately it just ended up with me being waived. The biggest thing that I’ve learned is just continuous emphasis on remaining professional on and off the court, always having a great attitude and being a great teammate.”

Southwest Notes: Gee, Cunningham, Barea, Spurs

July 20th, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Pelicans used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Alonzo Gee and Dante Cunningham, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders passes along (on Twitter). Gee will earn $1.32MM this season, while Cunningham will take home a bit more at $2.85MM. That means New Orleans still has $1.294MM of its mid-level exception remaining and 10 guaranteed contracts on the books. We’ve got more contract details in tonight’s look at the Southwest Division:

The front-loaded deal J.J Barea inked with the Mavericks will pay him slightly more than $16MM over four years, as Pincus reveals in his updated Dallas salary page. He’ll earn $4.29MM this season, $4,096,950 the following year, $3,903,900 in year three, and $3,710,850 during the 2018/19 season. The Mavs upped the Puerto Rican guard’s yearly salaries after missing out on DeAndre Jordan.
It has been a busy offseason in San Antonio, and the most overlooked move that the Spurs have made is the addition of 7’3” center Boban Marjanovic, as David Pick details for Bleacher Report. Marjanovic was a relative unknown prior to last season, but his efficient play and massive size netted him some lucrative offers from European teams that he turned down in favor of the Spurs, as Pick relays.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, David West, and Danny Green all have player options in the final years of their contracts, as Pincus notes on his updated Spurs salary page.