Sacramento Kings: Jason Terry Traded For Alonzo Gee
By Adam McGee
The Sacramento Kings have continued their push to try and clear salary space over the last couple of days, with the end goal of their recent spate of moves still very much unknown. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Wayne Ellington was waived on the last possible day that salaries could be waived and stretched for the coming season.
The Kings weren’t finished there either, as they picked up Alonzo Gee in a deal with the Houston Rockets that rid them of Jason Terry‘s salary.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Houston and Sacramento have an agreement in principle for a deal that will further reduce the Kings’ salary bill:
"The Rockets will send a package centered on non-guaranteed contracts, including Alonzo Gee, that the Kings can ultimately waive and gain salary savings and roster space, league sources said. Sacramento will send Houston two second-round picks in the deal, including one via the Knicks, league sources told Yahoo."
Two picks seems like quite the price to pay for a move that could purely amount to shedding salary, if Gee is indeed waived. What is the Kings great hurry to cut salary though, and could it mean that there are further moves afoot?
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Only time will tell in that regard, but for the meantime, at the very least the Kings have picked up an intriguing role player in Alonzo Gee. The 27-year-old has the distinction of having been a member of four different NBA teams since the beginning of June.
Having left the Cavaliers, where he spent his previous five seasons, Gee has had the shortest of stopovers in New Orleans and Houston, before now finding himself in Sacramento.
If the Kings decide to keep him, what can Gee offer in Sacramento though?
The 27-year-old is an exceptionally athletic swingman who is unafraid of taking shots. For his career, Gee averages 6.7 field goal attempts per 24.1 minutes a game.
Those shots come in a variety of different ways also. Gee is happy slashing to the basket, throwing down thunderous dunks, while he’s also capable of stretching the floor and making some 3-pointers.
Although, he isn’t necessarily the most efficient of shooters from distance, Gee is capable, and is the sort of player who can get on a hot streak and turn a game on its head. A career average of 32.9 percent won’t necessarily strike fear into the hearts of opposition defenses, but should act as just enough to ensure that they have to stay on their guard.
The Florida native isn’t going to be the type of player to push a middling team like the Sacramento Kings over the edge, but he will add some nice, versatile wing depth to their roster, if the team decides against cutting him.
In many ways, the arrival of Gee could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Kings. With the expectation of most onlookers being that youngsters Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore are going to fight it out for the starting shooting guard spot, the Kings could do with some proven NBA pedigree to act as backup.
With Gee having started in more than 170 games in the NBA, he could be just the guy to fill that need too.
Whether it’s in the coming couple of months, mid-season, or next summer, what’s clear from all of Sacramento’s recent dealings is that they have something much bigger in the works. With a new arena on the way, and a forward thinking front office, one thing’s for sure, as much as he could potentially contribute, the Kings’ end goal is much bigger than Alonzo Gee.