Another great post. I don't see him fitting into our futur plans either unless theres a major trade or two that depleted our assets as you suggested. As of now we have enough young players with potential which we need to develop and adding another guy like Gee would hinder the development of our own guys.
Forbes is a spot up 3 point shooter at the wing spot, with some other versatility in other areas, and moderate athleticism/defensive ability. Forbes is great value with moderate to low upside. Gee is still sort of a raw commodity similar to that of Trevor Ariza before the Rockets signed him.
I suppose the question is whether or not Marcus Morris' "upside" is more valuable than Alonzo Gee's production. I don't think Gee has a ton of upside, but I don't think he's too different from what Courtney Lee was when we traded for him. Granted they are different players and Lee is/was a little better, but if you can get Gee for ~$3M a year, you've got yourself a solid young role player with limited upside you can either keep around as a core bench piece or flip into something later on. Re: Forbes vs. Gee, they're different players. Forbes is a much better ball handler, Gee is a much better rebounder and way more athletic. Also better defensively. Forbes is a SG/SF. Gee purely a SF. Looking at their on/off court stats both Gee and Forbes have pretty solid numbers. http://basketballvalue.com/player.php?year=2011-2012&id=872 http://basketballvalue.com/player.php?year=2011-2012&id=885
they both shoot a similarly low FG% at 41%. Forbes only shoots 34% from 3pt land vs. Gee's horrible 32%.
LOL what a moronic post. No **** Presti built a team with like 6 top 5 lottery picks, OMG stop the presses! What a genius I'm not saying Presti isn't good but c'mon, you have KD and 4 top 5 picks to build a team. How is that hard in any way, shape or form? Also what would you trade for our superstars exactly? Yao Ming was untouchable because of $$$ from China and Tmac was busted up. You act like the Cavs would have given us Lebron for Tmac.
At the end of the day though Gee's an SF who can't shoot and isn't elite athletically and defensively. I don't see why we should sign him, honestly I'd rather give that time to Morris who is already on the roster and has spent 1 year studying the plays and getting exp in the Dleague.
3 to be exact, durant, harden and westbrook. But you can give any GM 3 lotto picks, dont mean they'll all end up drafting 3 all stars. The chance of getting a lotto bust is still much higher.
I agree that Gee seems pretty unnecessary with Parsons, Forbes, and Morris on the roster (plus i think Lamb can play a bit of SF at his size). That said, i don't think Morris is a SF. I think Morris is a PF. After watching him in summer league this year, and knowing the type of player he was in college, it really surprises me that the Houston coaching staff has been running him out there at the 3-spot. He's legit 6'9", he has the skill to be a solid rebounder; he doesn't have a good 3-pt shot, but he does have a nice post and mid-range game; he's a little stiff and can't really cover 3's, but he can cover 4's. Seems to lack great court-vision and awareness. Doesn't sound like a 3 to me. He's basically a less athletic/less talented Terrence Jones. Pat's, Morris', and Jones' skill-set is redundant. Regardless of what happens with Dwight, one or two of these guys has to be moved. Keeping 5 PFs on this roster will undermine development of some of our talented players.
I think Morris' upside is indeed more valuable than Alonzo Gee's production and that's the way the front office sees it (in my opinion) because we are still heavily vested in Morris because of his guaranteed contract and the fact that we took him 14th overall. This is the year for Morris to show us something this year. Anything at all. Adding Gee would only take away from the opportunity for Morris and it would make it more difficult for us to take a real close look at Morris. When we acquired Lee he was already a proven commodity in the league with a much better/longer track record. He was/is more highly coveted because he's a much better player than Gee.
Percentages are similar but if you watch their form, release, and body control while shooting its night and day. Its not that Forbes cannot shoot the three, its just that he doesn't always shoot good threes. I dont see Gee ever being a consistent 3 point shooter in the NBA.
The reason why Morris struggled to find his place last year among other things was because he was a 4 in college but that didn't translate well into the next level because Morris doesn't have the height he's really only 6'7 and he lacks the length and explosiveness to make an impact in the paint on defense. Offensively, his game is more tailored to the mid range and he doesn't play above the rim because he's not a superior athlete and with that lack of height and length it's slim pickings for him in the paint. I think the coaches trying to make him a 3 makes sense because of those reasons I mentioned and he is pretty fluid and the weight loss should help him more. It's not an easy transition for Morris and he has to continue to work hard and listen but I think it's in his best interest.
We've got a lot of "projects" on this team already. I'm not trying to say the guy's worthless, but with so many other young, talented players on the roster, I don't see how Morris gets the minutes he needs to develop. Also keep in mind that Morris and Pat start earning $3-$4 mil per over the next few years, as their late lotto contracts mature. Neither are worth that at present.
