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[ESPN Mag] Ariza Feature

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by ElDobleK, Sep 10, 2009.

  1. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    Just opened the September 21st issue of ESPN the Magazine to find an interesting spread on Trevor Ariza (p. 72-79). Pretty interesting stuff. Keep an eye open if you're a subscriber, go pick one up, or just hang out for a bit, 'cuz I'm typing it up.
     
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  2. True Rocket

    True Rocket Member

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    Thanks, can't wait til you're done. :D
     
  3. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    6BRs , 4BAs, 3 CAR GAR, Rim Vus

    by Sam Alipour

    Page 1

    Trevor Ariza isn't used to settling down. His rented town house, tucked in a cul-de-sac in Playa Vista, feels cold, the way it would if he'd just moved in. There are no homey touches--no art, no mementos, no table even. The only evidence to suggest the guy hoops for money sits on the mantel: a photo of Ariza as a member of the Magic, dunking on Emeka Okafor's head. Lakers title trinkets, barely two months old, are on display in the closet, stuffed in a duffel. Out of sight, out of mind.

    The sterility of this LA lair belies the warm, welcome feeling he got the chance to bask in during the past year. The quiet 24-year-old is fresh off a breakout season, on in which the catch-me-if-you-can finisher added new dimensions to his game and a ring to his finger. But three weeks after that mission was accomplished, the Lakers reached an agreement with free agent swingman Ron Artest, and one deal became two realities. Ariza, the Lakers' incumbent at that position and also a free agent, would be playing elsewhere next season. What should have been a summerlong coming-out party was suddenly booked with the new-smell realities of moving on (to Houston) and fitting in (with the Rockets). Again.

    "Coming to LA, I figured, Why buy? I got one more year on my contract, and the Lakers situation may be temporary," Ariza says.

    "I guess I was right."

    IF TAJH Ariza could speak, he'd say all he wants in a new house in a place to splash around. but since the 16-month-old has mastered just three words--ball, pass and binky (a.k.a. pacifier)--Dad will have to be his mouthpiece: "This kid loooves to swim."

    On a sticky August afternoon in Houston, the Ariza men are checking out the infinity pool in the backyard of a six-bedroom, seven-bath, 9,000 square-foot, Mediterranean-style home, the first stop of what will be a six-hour house hunt. "I never dreamed I could buy a place like this," Trevor says. "This" being a property with an indoor putting green, wine grotto, eight-spout "car wash" shower and two garages--one equipped with a urinal.

    But Daddy is no sucker. He knows to look past the fancy amenities, "a trick to make it feel more homey," he says. He's come armed with questions: What's the commute to work? (Forty-five minutes.) How do the utility bills look? (Ugly.) Is the home wired? (You can light the place from your iPhone, for heaven's sake.) "Athletes are very easygoing," says Jay Goldman, who finds homes for pros. Not this one pal. This one is a moving expert.

    Ariza was born in Miami, but he'd lived in five countries, moving 18 times, before he hit puberty. That was mostly the direct result of the hoops career of Kenny McClurry, who wed Lolita Ariza shortly after Trevor arrived. By Stop 18, the asthmatic boy Lolita describes now as "very hyper" had become quiet and observant. "He doesn't warm up to people easily," she says.

    Tragedy cooled him further. On March 18, 1996, Ariza was in the stands in Venezuela, watching his stepdad play, when the game was stopped abruptly. A translator helped to explain the pause: "Something happened to your brother." Back at the hotel, Tajh, who hwas 5, had climbed onto a windowsill and fallen 36 stories to his death. Trevor was 10. "When I got home, my brother was still on the concrete," he says. He goes silent for a few long seconds. "We slept in the same bed. I taught him how to walk. He was my best friend."

    The family buried Tajh in Florida, but Kenny and Lolita's marriage couldn't survive the loss. After the breakup, Lolita and Trevor settled in the LA area and Trevor, the oldest of a local brood of 10 "cousins," embraced his role as man of the house. "If we acted up, Trevor wouldn't say nothing," says Omar Funches, Lolita's nephew. "He'd just strap on the boxing gloves and let us have it."
     
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  4. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    Page 2

    Ariza eventually used that controlled fire to propel Westchester High to back-to-back state titles. But after starting as a freshman at UCLA, his hoops saga became the familiar one of a hardwood gypsy. He struggled to adapt to a new coach and locker room, and his play suffered. Kicks GM Isiah Thomas snagged him in the second round of the 2004 draft, but coach Larry Brown was never big on young guys. In Orlando, Stan Van Gundy wanted floor-spreaders for Dwight Howard, and that left the slashing Ariza on the bench too often. When the fourth-year pro was sent to LA in November 2007, there was every reason to believe the cycle would continue. Ariza, though, had other plans. "What I needed was an opportunity," he says. "I'd take care of the rest."

    But a broken foot derailed his first season with the Lakers, and soon Ariza was moving again, this time to a gym on the campus of San Diego State. With pal and ex-Aztec Tony Bland, he followed a strict schedule: shooting, lunch, weights, shooting, more shooting. "I stayed until it felt right," Ariza says, "then I'd come back for more." What emerged at the end of that summer was the athletic finisher and perimeter defender Phil Jackson had been seeking and the pet project Kobe was happy to mold. "He had such a high basketball IQ, so I thought, Okay, it must be mental with him," says Bryant. "I was like, 'Trevor, just shoot the damn ball; let the pressure fall on me."

    With a refined stroke and renewed confidence, Ariza became the lead game changer of LA's vaunted Bench Mob. And in his fourth start, in March 2009, he scored a career-high 26, hitting nine of 13 shots in a win over Dallas. By season's end, he was the team leader in steals and had shattered his career total for threes (nine) by... well, a lot (61).

    As his game got louder, the quiet man known as Goose--have you seen his neck?--did too. On the road, the flicks freak wrested control of the team's Movie Night, a tradition that tabs a Laker to host an in-room rental. His preferred genre, comedy, seemed less and less of a leap to his 'mates. "Trevor's goofy, very outgoing," says Bryant. "We ran Wedding Crashers lines all the time.

    Ariza hit 48% from long range in the playoffs, and in the Finals, his 13-point third quarter broke open Game 4, and with it his former team's back. When it was over, the Lakers were champs, Lil Wayne had dropped his name into a jam, his beloved Dodgers had invited him to throw out a first pitch and he actually let himself begin to think he'd finally found a home.

    Good thing he was still renting.

    SPLAYED ACROSS the carpet of an empty bedroom, Ariza talks at the ceiling. "They all look the same," he says. Like the previous place, this custom home in Sienna Plantation, a planned community in Houston, has six bedrooms, an infinity pool and views of a lake and golf course. The two houses have one more thing in common: a hefty price tag, between $1.5 million and...something ridiculous. With an expiring contract that paid $3.1 million last season, Ariza had counted on an upgrade to help offset the costs of luxury--but in LA, not Houston.

    That script began to be rewritten at the toll of free agency, 12:01 a.m. on July 1, one minute into the day after Ariza's birthday. He was still celebrating with his family when he received a call from his agent, David Lee. "He said, 'the Lakers called, and they think you're only worth the midlevel,'" or $5.8 million a year, Ariza recounts. Technically, it wasn't even an offer. Says Lee of the Lakers GM, "Mitch Kupchak's exact quote was. 'We want Trevor on the cheap, and we're not going to make an offer. Find what the market will bear and come back to us.'"

    Ariza was bummed. He'd been expecting something in the $7-to-$8 million range, but he also knew the Lakers had committed $74 million to eight players, putting them well into luxury tax territory. And free agent Lamar Odom was still unsigned. "I thought, Fine, let's talk to some teams and see if anybody values me more," Ariza says. Later that morning, he headed to Vegas to cool out with his family while fielding calls from suitors. The Cavs brought it hard. Mike Brown and Shaq phoned, LeBron texted, then met Ariza face-to-face. They eventually put five years, $33 million offer on the table.

    But it was Rockets GM Daryl Morey who received the coveted dinner meeting that night. Like everyone else, Morey, was taken with Ariza's selflessness, athleticism and offensive uptick, all of which made him a snug fit in Rick Adelman's free-flowing attack. But in his analysis, Morey, the league's top number cruncher, discovered something else, too. "We found Trevor's defensive impact to be at the top of his position."
     
  5. AzNaNsZ

    AzNaNsZ Member

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    wow such a heart touching story for Ariza and i just know he will continue to thrive with the rockets
     
  6. dachuda86

    dachuda86 Member

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    As a journalist, I would be really really really pissed if someone typed up my work. Delete this thread please.
     
  7. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    Page 3

    "He was always our top free agent target, but on his defense alone, he was worth the money we had available for him." As he and Ariza were leaving dinner, Morey checked his voice mail. Ron Artest was LA-bound.

    A few hours later, Ariza agreed to a five-year, $33 million deal with the Rockets, similar to what the Lakers had given Artest. "We were surprised Trevor was available," Morey says. "We thought the Lakers would bring him back for sure." Ariza was pretty sure of that too. "If you'd told me I wasn't going to be a Laker, I wouldn't have believed you," he says. "You'd think they'd want to keep their team together. I mean, we won the championship, and I was a big part of it."

    Kupchak insists the same thing: "It was our intention to keep the team together--and that included Trevor." But free agency is a fast-moving target, and decisions need to be made. "Early on, we weren't able to agree on a deal," he continues. "If it doesn't look like things are going the way you want them to, you have to make a quick decision and go in another direction."

    The feeling in some NBA circles is that Lee--who had earlier been criticized for the public push he made to get another of his clients, the oft-injured Andrew Bynum, a max deal--overplayed his hand in a down market. Still, the whispers are that only after talks hit an impasse and Artest became available at a bargain did the Lakers change course.

    Either way, the shakeout created conflicting emotions in Ariza'a now-former teammates. "Trevor's a great guy and a huge reason we won," says Jordan Farmar. "But we all know it's business, so I guess we have to enjoy what we accomplished and move on." Even as the Lakers will miss his game and goofiness, they feel Ariza is on to something. "Trevor now knows how to win, and he'll be more assertive in Houston," says Lamar Odom. "I'll be seeing him in the All-Star game soon."

    That kind of bon boyage can bring a smile to anyone's face. Ariza, though, has been smiling since July 2, when he listened to this voice mail: "Hey Trevor, this is Luis Scola. I would really like for you to be my teammate." At the time, he couldn't believe his ears. "I thought Luis was a jerk," he says of the Rockets' feisty big man. "Just because of the way he plays. But he's a real cool dude." Within hours, Ariza had heard from seven other cool dudes, some by texy, like this one from an unknown number: "You beat us and won the championship. Now you can help me get one. -Shane."

    Battier and the other Rockets expect their investment to pay quick dividends. Ariza again spent each summer weekday in that SDSU gym, as he put it, "dribbling through fire with gasoline drawers on." Translation: The dude wants to boost his guard skills, which will be at a premium in Houston with the continued absence of Tracy McGrady, who's still recovering from microfracture surgery. Ariza hopes to improve his shot, too, to "40-something percent" from the arc. But he draws the line at predicting next season's scoring average. "I have no idea what I'm capable of," he says. "I've never been featured in an offense."

    For the first time in his career, Ariza might even be ready to assume a leadership role. This is what he has to say about a certain injured Chinese center: "Yao shouldn't even think about basketball. We're talking about his career here. He has to do what's best for him. Until he returns, we'll hold it down."

    As at peace as Ariza appears to be these days, he hasn't quite let go of the events that led to his horizontal jump. "What was I supposed to do?" he says. "I didn't get an offer from the Lakers." He even claims he would have accepted the midlevel had it actually been offered. "Why wouldn't I? I love LA. I loved my teammates. I'd be closer to my family. It wasn't about money. I was offered more money than Houston gave me. The money will be there later."

    He does say his decision to sign with the Rockets was partly hoops-based. "This was the best opportunity to show my abilities and expand my game." In the end, though, the main reason Ariza is spending an August weekend house hunting in Texas can be explained by a simple human need. "My whole career, all I've wanted to feel is wanted, and I have that now," he says. "It sounds crazy, but the Rockets swept me off my feet. I'm telling you, I've never felt so comfortable in my life."

    Still, Ariza isn't quite ready to pull the trigger after his four-house tour. "I'm taking my time," he says, "because whatever place I buy is going to be home for a while. It has to be perfect." He does have a postpurchase plan, though. First, he'll invite all his cousins to help him pack up his LA digs. "Then we'll probably rent a Winnebago and move it ourselves," he says. "It'll be fun."
     
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  8. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    I attributed it to him. Not like he gets paid per issue sold.
     
  9. ElDobleK

    ElDobleK Literally Zan Tabak

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    Page 4

    THE WOMAN behind the counter at George Bush Intercontinental Airport's Gate 43 must not yet be a Trevor Ariza fan. She's not at all sorry she can't accommodate an upgrade to first class or to an exit row or even to an aisle seat. So the Rockets' hot new acquisition will have to sit quietly, all 6'8" of him folded like a beach chair, with Tajh in his lap, on the last flight out of Houston for the night.

    It's a fitting send-off for the reigning champ, one more vague indignity in an upside-down summer. He admits being a part of the inevitable White House ceremony with his old teammates would have been cool. But he'll see them soon enough, on Nov. 4 in Houston, then Nov. 15, when the Rockets visit Staples Center and Ariza can exact revenge on his former team on their court--after they present him with the ring he helped them to win, in a pregame ceremony, of course.

    As the plane doors close, Ariza plays solitaire on his phone. Tries to, anyway. A row of ladies in front of him are loudly losing their cool. "Oh, my god! Is that him?" So does a guy toting a kid and a camera and another wielding a pen and cap. These LA-bound passengers simply can't believe Trevor Ariza-Trevor Ariza!--is among them, another weary traveler chilling in coach. Most, though, just want to give thanks. "Couldn't have done it without you," says a teen in a Kobe jersey.

    One thousand feet above the ground, zipping away from a city he's quickly growing to like, the weary traveler puts his phone away and graciously obliges his fans, lifted by a single thought.

    Almost home.

    by Sam Alipour, sam.alipour@espnthemag.com
     
    8 people like this.
  10. Mikeylu

    Mikeylu Contributing Member

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    thank you for typing this up...definately deserves rep points :)
     
  11. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Major Props kkolish
     
  12. PhilCollins

    PhilCollins Contributing Member

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    thanks for posting. Great article
     
  13. Big Shot Rob

    Big Shot Rob Member

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    Thanks for typing the article, kkolish. Great read.

    "It sounds crazy, but the Rockets swept me off my feet. I'm telling you, I've never felt so comfortable in my life."

    Even more confident, and feeling at home in Houston. Big things down the road for this kid.
     
  14. MONON

    MONON Member

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    Great article!! Thanks for sharing it with us kkolish!
     
  15. srrm

    srrm Contributing Member

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    Thanks! Nice article!

    Please rep the guy generously for taking the time to type it out for us
     
  16. RudyTBag

    RudyTBag Contributing Member
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    Damn, Can Ariza become a "star"?



    This article makes me think so...

    Thanks so much OP...
     
  17. dachuda86

    dachuda86 Member

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    I'm going to just say it again, this is criminal. Criminal...
     
  18. RudyTBag

    RudyTBag Contributing Member
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    He put quotes on the thing and gave credit to the writer, DAYYYYYUUUUUMMMM.
     
  19. Omer

    Omer Member

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    Excellent article, this is the perfect way to get to know our new player.
     
  20. True Rocket

    True Rocket Member

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    "Trevor now knows how to win, and he'll be more assertive in Houston," says Lamar Odom. "I'll be seeing him in the All-Star game soon."
     

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