Who is Jamario Moon, the 6-foot-8 forward the Cavaliers signed to an offer sheet today?
He's not a superstar, but he is a guy who earned his way and should understand what it means to be where he is.
Moon played for the Miami Heat last season. The Heat have seven days to decide to match the offer. If they don't, Moon becomes a member of the Cavs.
Moon planned to enter the NBA in 2001, when he declared for the draft after playing just one year at Meridian (Mississippi) Community College. He was not selected. The next six years he bounced around, playing in the USBL (Gary), the CBA (Albany, where he was Defensive Player of the Year) and for a team in Mexico. He also spent time in the WBA and the Developmental League.
Moon even played a game for the Harlem Globetrotters, according to several Internet reports.
He made his way onto the Toronto Raptors' roster in 2007 via a two-day free-agent tryout. A month into his rookie season, he was starting. He was sent to the Heat as part of the trade that brought Jermaine O'Neal to the Heat and sent Shawn Marion to the Raptors.
With the Heat, Moon averaged 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. He started 21-of-26 games — but come playoff time had lost the spot to James Jones.
Moon plays mainly at small forward. He is not known as a great scorer but is known as a lanky defender who can give opposing shooters trouble. He figures to be the kind of guy the Cavs can use against taller shooters, such as Rashard Lewis of the Orlando Magic and Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics.
Not that he'll shut those guys down, mind you. Guys spend their careers becoming All-Stars, then when an acquisition like this is made the conclusion is that he'll be the ''stopper'' the team needs.
Pierce and Lewis will get their points. Moon just provides another tall option to guard them.
In his two NBA seasons, Moon averaged in the high 20s in minutes played per game. He shot 47.8 percent overall, 34.4 percent from 3-point range. He's a jumper (he was invited to the slam-dunk contest), a shot-blocker and a good rebounder.
Moon can run, and a cult grew around him with the Raptors with his flying dunks and fastbreak finishes.
Set aside his dunks and his defensive skills seem ahead of his offense. He's considered a very solid defensive player. Last season he led the league in steals-to-turnover ratio, though some of that is attributed to the fact that he doesn't do much off the dribble.
At one point in free agency the Celtics were rumored to be interested in him.
He now has a good chance to wind up with the Cavs. General Manager Danny Ferry went under the radar with this one, signing Moon to a contract when his name had not even been rumored to be linked with the Cavs — a real challenge in the Internet age.
His name will make for all kinds of ridiculous lines: The Cavs now have a moon to go with their star. No more Moon over Miami. That kind of stuff. Oh . . . Moon's contract was announced 40 years to the day after man first walked on the . . . never mind.
Moon's addition gives the Cavs this look with their main players:
• Center: Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
• Strong forward: Anderson Varejao, Darnell Jackson.
• Small forward: LeBron James, Moon, J.J. Hickson.
• Guards: Delonte West, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson.
The Cavs have gotten taller — which in part is a reaction to losing to the Magic. They have the league's reigning Most Valuable Player. They have two talented but aging centers, but they still have some concern with front-line depth.
Moon's signing is for low money (believed to be about $3 million per year), but it does not appear to be an offer the Heat will match. Their sights are set on signing Lamar Odom and matching would force the Heat to pay the luxury tax, which it has said it does not want to do.
It's not the kind of signing to cause wild celebrations in the streets, but it could (could) be the kind of addition that fills out a roster.
And if Moon is as good as advertised defensively, he could fill a need for the Cavs.
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