Cavs sign Alonzo Gee

The Cavaliers have signed former Wizards and Spurs guard/forward Alonzo Gee to a non-guaranteed contract.

The 23-year-old Gee appeared in 16 games this season (11 for the Wizards, five for the Spurs), averaging 2.1 points in nine minutes a game. He takes the roster spot of Jawad Williams, whom the team released on Monday. Gee was one of a handful of players the Cavs brought in for a workout Monday night and apparently liked enough to take a shot on him.

Cavs coach Byron Scott said last week he wanted more athleticism and defensive-minded type guys. At the very least, Gee seems to provide that.

"Very, very athletic,'' said Scott, who had a look at Gee during the preseason when the Cavs played the Spurs in Pittsburgh. "He's an energy-type guy who can really get up and down the floor and really defend."

Scott won't play him tonight against the Orlando Magic or tomorrow night at Charlotte. He tried walking through some of the scheme's with Gee at the team's shootaround this morning, but wants to get him into at least one practice session before throwing him out in a game.

"I don't think he has any type of feel right now what we're doing on either end of the floor," Scott said. "We're throwing a whole new offense at him. It's going to take him some time to learn that. We'll see how quickly he can grasp stuff at both ends of the floor."

Since the deal is not guaranteed, they could easily waive him should they make a larger move in a trade. This simply provides them with another practice body, since they're down to 12 now with Samardo Samuels joining Christian Eyenga in the Development League.

Gee was named the D-League's Rookie of the Year last season, averaging 21 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Austin Toros (the Spurs' affiliate). He split time last season between the Wizards and Spurs. While with the Wizards, he scored 19 points in his first career start at Charlotte on March 26.

Like Mo Williams, Gee played collegiately at Alabama. He met and briefly chatted with Williams during the preseason game in October. He was introduced to Williams through the Spurs' Antonio McDyess, who also played for the Tide.

Gee has appeared in 27 NBA games in his career and averaged 4.3 points.