On Friday, I laid out some key questions around the upcoming restricted free agency of Cavaliers forward Alonzo Gee. Is he worth keeping around? What happens if there's a bidding war for his services? What's his role on this team going forward? Fear the Sword readers spoke out and here are the answers:
By the looks of Friday's poll, Alonzo Gee's played his way into Cavalier fans hearts, with 68% of Fear the Sword readers opting to re-sign the forward for a second contract. Of course, the question here was never really about simply resigning Alonzo, it was more about at what point do the Cavaliers bow out of the bidding war that is sure to erupt.
The discussion brought up a lot of good points. Benevolent Fear the Sword Dicatator, err, I mean Editor, Conrad chimed in to comment how the results of the draft will change this answer significantly. And he brings up a very good point. If the Cavaliers wind up bringing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on board, the need for a guy like Alonzo drops significantly, as would the Cavaliers willingness to pay him.
Besides that point though, fans were split. There were some who thought Alonzo's upside is limitless and therefore the Cavaliers should match the rumored $4M offer that will be coming from Phoenix to keep him on board. Others questioned whether $4M was really enough to break the Cavaliers bank and rightfully pointed out that the Cavaliers will still have plenty of cap space if they pay Alonzo that much. And then of course there were those who were cautious, who feared regression and warned that the Cavaliers should be wary of paying Alonzo based upon a few month long streak of great play.
Where do I fall on this matter? I'll explain after the jump.
The initial position on the Cleveland Cavaliers Worst of the Century team will belong to one man from a trio of point guards who played too many minutes for the Cavaliers earlier in the decade.
As I mentioned before I didn't include players who played insignificant minutes because the Cavs realized they were bad and got rid of them. It was pretty wild to look back and see some of the guys who actually did get some minutes for the Cavs 8-10 years ago. There definitely were plenty of people I had never heard of.
After the jump I'll introduce you to the three candidates and then it's up to you to vote away and decide who the worst one was.
Do you guys want to see Kyrie Irving dressed up like an old guy and completely school some people at basketball? Of course you do. It's pretty awesome. Check out the video below.
The Cavaliers have a lot of decisions to make this off-season. Who do they draft? What key free agents do they target? And finally, the point of this series, who from this current squad to they bring back? Today we tackle a player who went from perennial D-League call-up to starting SF. Of course, we're talking about Alonzo Gee.
In a short three years in the league, Alonzo Gee has certainly made the rounds. He's gone through two non-consecutive stints with the Wizards, had a brief layover with the Spurs, spent his time in basketball purgatory in the D-League and then, finally, landed with the Cavaliers which has been his team since. With the disappointing play of Omri Casspi and the unexpectedly awful regression of Christian Eyenga, Alonzo Gee was the sole bright spot in the Cavaliers SF rotation, starting off as a sixth man off the bench and ending the season as the preferred starter of choice.
Unfortunately the for Cavs, Alonzo's contract is up this summer. Fortunately, he's a restricted free agent, meaning the Cavs can match any deal to keep him on board. Unfortunately, rumor has it that Alonzo's being scouted pretty heavily by other teams in the league, namely Phoenix. And with Phoenix reportedly being willing to offer up to $4M a year for his services, Alonzo might quickly become an expensive player to keep around.
Personally, I find this to the be hardest decision the Cavaliers have to make this offseason that doesn't involve draft picks or trades. As such, I think it's important to ask ourselves some questions first to make sure we're all on the same page about Alonzo.
Okay, so now that Kyrie Irving had one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory and was awarded with the Rookie of the Year trophy, let's look back a little bit. Here are some of the best highlight mixes on Youtube. What was your favorite Kyrie Irving moment this season? Enjoy.
In yet another comedic vote of the NBA media, Kyrie Irving has won the Rookie of the Year award by garnering just 117 of a possible 120 first place votes. Irving's rookie season was head and shoulders above the rest of his peers and it is puzzling how he didn't receive all 120 votes.
Irving, the leader in this race from Christmas on, carried the Cavaliers all term long and looks to be a future multiple time All-NBA player.
The three other players who shockingly got first place votes were Kenneth Faried of the Nuggets, Iman Shumpert of the Knicks and Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs.
The award was won by Irving with a total of 592 points and as you will see below he destroyed the field overall (first place votes in parentheses):
1. Irving - 592 points (117)
2. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota - 170 points
3. Faried - 129 points (1)
4. Leonard - 47 points (1)
5. Shumpert - 33 points (1)
There certainly are millions of things more important in sports than Kyrie Irving not winning this award unanimously but it reflects poorly again on the group of people who comprise the voters for this award.
With almost no case to be made for any other candidate, it was specifically worrisome to see one person actually place Irving third on his or her ballot.
Someday these votes must be made public although it's not like that will change anything.
In related news, the Cavaliers are definitely doing this with Anthony Davis at this time in 2013!
The Cleveland Cavaliers made a statement Monday saying there was a major announcement coming at a Tuesday press conference at the Cleveland Clinic Courts at 10 am EST.
In this day and age of instant media access and the fact that it is no secret that Kyrie Irving was the best rookie in the league this year there's little doubt what the media session will be about.
Irving has a chance to join Blake Griffin, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson as the only rookies to win the award unanimously.
The dazzling season by Irving was sensational to watch with his fourth quarter scoring outbursts earning him many fans in Ohio and around the league.
The Cavaliers will look to add another superstar to pair with this dynamic 20 year-old in next month's draft.
Congratulations to Irving on being named (unanimous?!) Rookie of the Year!
Update: Kyrie Irving will receive the award on Tuesday instead of Monday, as originally reported. The press conference will occur at 10 AM in Independence, Ohio (where the Cavaliers practice). There will be a live feed of the press conference on NBA.com.
In a stunning, shocking turn of events, Kyrie Irving will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, according to ESPN. I know you guys are as stunned as I am. Kyrie Irving was a total beast all season and emerged as the Cavaliers' best player pretty early in the season.
Irving, who didn't even turn 20 until March 23, also shot the ball better as a rookie than many scouts projected, registering shooting percentages of .469 from the field and .399 from 3-point range. Irving's performance quickly established him as Cleveland's new franchise player in the Cavaliers' second season without LeBron James.
I'll have much more on Kyrie's remarkable season once I finish with my final exams and he is actually presented with the award. For now -- congratulations Kyrie!
