[ESPN True Hoop]Breaking Down The 4-Team Trade (Rockets)

[BDswangHTX]

Every acquisition has a cost, which is one of the bedrock principles of bartering. Unless you're purchasing Manhattan or annexing the Sudetenland, it's virtually impossible to get something for nothing. The NBA's trade market has three primary currencies in circulation: Talent, relief and flexibility -- with the latter two linked to some extent. On Wednesday, Houston, New Orleans, Indiana and New Jersey cooperated on a blockbuster trade that saw each team forfeit assets in service of a larger goal. Houston Rockets Coming: Courtney Lee Going: Trevor Ariza On the surface, the deal for the Rockets appears to be a cost-cutting measure. Houston re-upped Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry this summer, while signing Brad Miller to a free agent contract. Deep into luxury tax territory, the Rockets unloaded the remaining four years and $28 million on Ariza's deal in exchange for Nets guard Courtney Lee. The Rockets' front office deeply believe the best value contracts in basketball are max deals granted to transcendent superstars, and rookie scale contracts belonging to productive young players. In Lee, the Rockets get a young wing who will earn only $1.35 million in 2010-11. In addition, the Rockets hold a team option on Lee for $2.23 million in 2011-12. That's real value for a 24 year old with with the talent to start. Lee and Rockets' starting shooting guard Kevin Martin train together in the offseason -- the latter regarded as an older brother to the third-year guard. Although Lee might not be the stopper Ariza is, he's capable of covering either guard position and certainly tread water against some of the league's less dynamic 3-and-D small forwards. Lee will find strong organizational dynamics in Houston, similar to what he encountered during his rookie season in Orlando, where he succeeded. With Ariza's departure, the Rockets will have to figure out who picks up his minutes beyond Lee and whether that means experimenting selectively with Martin at the 3 spot. New Orleans Hornets Coming: Trevor Ariza Going: Darren Collison and James Posey The wing has been an enduring problem for the Hornets dating back to Desmond Mason, Bostjan Nachbar and J.R. Smith. Ariza might not rank on Chris Paul's list of the Top 25 guys he most wants to play with, but the second Ariza puts on the teal, he'll instantly become the most athletic and versatile wing New Orleans has seen in recent years -- but at an enormous cost. Collison has one of the best value contracts in basketball. He'll earn $1.3 million this season and carries team options for $1.46 million and $2.31 respectively over the subsequent two seasons. As a rookie, Collison played more than 2,000 minutes and compiled an impressive Player Efficiency Rating of 16.55. There's no guarantee Chris Paul will be sticking around New Orleans after his contract expires in the summer of 2012, and Collison's presence was a healthy -- and cheap -- insurance policy against that departure and any injury. Removing the remaining $13.4 million of James Posey's contract and the addition of Ariza's gifted -- but limited -- game seem to be an expensive bounty for a player with the potential to be very special and who is already contributing on a nightly basis. Indiana Pacers Coming: Darren Collison and James Posey Going: Troy Murphy "Point guard, Indiana Pacers" has been the NBA equivalent of "Drummer, Spinal Tap." The Pacers haven't been able to buy a break at the top of the floor for several seasons. Jamaal Tinsley, Anthony Johnson, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Jarrett Jack and, most recently, T.J. Ford and Earl Watson have all walked through the revolving door in Indianapolis. A.J. Price, picked in the second round of the 2009 draft, showed some promise in his rookie campaign. But the acquisition of Collison finally locks down the point for the Pacers for the foreseeable future. Normally, a salary like Posey's would be an onerous burden, but the Pacers have one of the cleanest spreadsheets in the league going forward -- only $18.8 million committed in 2011-12 before you tack on Posey's deal. The addition of Collison gives the Pacers the freedom to buyout Ford and not overpay for the services of Earl Watson. New Jersey Nets Coming: Troy Murphy Going: Courtney Lee There's a pleasing symmetry to this deal, and it ends in Newark where Murphy arrives in exchange for the departing Lee. Murphy offers a lot of appeal for the Nets. First, he's in the final year of his contract, which will pay him a hair under $12 million in 2010-11. Second, he gives the Nets a stretch-4 who can crash the defensive glass and deliver smart interior passes, assets the Nets want alongside Brook Lopez's more traditional skill set. What about No. 3 overall pick Derrick Favors? The power forward out of Georgia Tech turned 19 the week following Orlando summer league. With Yi Jianlian moving down I-95 to Washington, there will be plenty of minutes for Favors in the Nets' frontcourt rotation. The Nets will presumably fill the void left by Lee with a platoon of Anthony Morrow and Quinton Ross -- two players who share absolutely nothing in common. Morrow could beat Ross in a shooting contest wearing a blindfold, but few players in the NBA can torment perimeter scorers the way Ross can.

http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/pos...e-4-team-trade

[devilsdandruff]

what is the New Orleans doing.

[Hippieloser]

TrueHoop has apparently not received word of one Chase Budinger. IMO, Budinger is the man this move was made for. No way he was sitting behind both Battier and Ariza, and I think it's likely he'll be starting sooner than later.

[daeyeth]

Lee and Rockets' starting shooting guard Kevin Martin train together in the offseason -- the latter regarded as an older brother to the third-year guard.

That's very interesting, didn't know about that. Pretty cool

[gta]

This guy don't know a thing. Martin @ 3? LMAO.
Clearly He's not familiar with the names like Chase Budinger, and T Williams who was part of the reason NJ wanted to move Lee

[Cannonball]

Originally Posted by gta This guy don't know a thing. Martin @ 3? LMAO. Clearly He's not familiar with the names like Chase Budinger, and T Williams who was part of the reason NJ wanted to move Lee

Well, Martin is 6'7". If there were a guard to get some minutes at SF (like when we have both Brooks and Lowry in the game), it'd probably be Martin.

[edwardc]

Wow whats next .

[HeyDude]

Originally Posted by devilsdandruff what is the New Orleans doing.

This is the puzzling part imo. NJ tried to get Bosh and Scola, so it makes sense that they went after Murphy. Pacers have been trying to score a decent PG since the last century, so it makes sense for them to take on Posey's contract in exchange for getting Collison also. Houston, after signing Lowry and Scola was in salary cap hell, so they get similar talent in Lee (albeit lose a starting position player) while shedding a ton of space. NO on the other hand......hm....They just traded away a guy who was racking up double doubles on a consistent basis, was making barely over a mil, and was under club control for the foreseeable future for a decent SF with ok salary....I like Ariza but man, Collison? This is a club panicking to keep star player happy and making hasty move. can you say desperation mode?

[Hayesfan]

Can I just say... I love this move.

A: Ariza did not work out. He tried hard, but for some reason he wasn't able to fully utilize his position in the Adelman offense.

B: Lee is immensely underrated. He was underrated in Orlando and he was underrated in NJ.

C: There can never be enough boys who played basketball in Kentucky on this team!

[Carl Herrera]

Originally Posted by Hayesfan Can I just say... I love this move. A: Ariza did not work out. He tried hard, but for some reason he wasn't able to fully utilize his position in the Adelman offense. B: Lee is immensely underrated. He was underrated in Orlando and he was underrated in NJ. C: There can never be enough boys who played basketball in Kentucky on this team!

As an expert in Kentucky, could you please inform us why Lee ended up in Western Kentucky rather than Regular Kentucky, which tends to have the more talented players?

[FLASH21]

Originally Posted by Hippieloser TrueHoop has apparently not received word of one Chase Budinger. IMO, Budinger is the man this move was made for. No way he was sitting behind both Battier and Ariza, and I think it's likely he'll be starting sooner than later.

No way, Shane will start and if Chase shows drastic improvement on D he could earn his way into starting at SF.

He's better suited, as of right now, coming off the bench anyway.

[Hayesfan]

Originally Posted by Carl Herrera As an expert in Kentucky, could you please inform us why Lee ended up in Western Kentucky rather than Regular Kentucky, which tends to have the more talented players?

Billy Gillespie.

[moestavern19]

Originally Posted by Hayesfan Can I just say... I love this move. A: Ariza did not work out. He tried hard, but for some reason he wasn't able to fully utilize his position in the Adelman offense. B: Lee is immensely underrated. C: There can never be enough boys who played basketball in Kentucky on this team!

HayesFan is on board. I approve.

Ariza was the turd in the punch bowl as far as I'm concerned. I love this move.

[Astrosfan183]

I really don't get this deal for New Orleans at all. Seems really stupid on their part.

But hey, works for me. The more I read into this deal the more I like it for us.

[rockets934life]

Originally Posted by HeyDude This is the puzzling part imo. NJ tried to get Bosh and Scola, so it makes sense that they went after Murphy. Pacers have been trying to score a decent PG since the last century, so it makes sense for them to take on Posey's contract in exchange for getting Collison also. Houston, after signing Lowry and Scola was in salary cap hell, so they get similar talent in Lee (albeit lose a starting position player) while shedding a ton of space. NO on the other hand......hm....They just traded away a guy who was racking up double doubles on a consistent basis, was making barely over a mil, and was under club control for the foreseeable future for a decent SF with ok salary....I like Ariza but man, Collison? This is a club panicking to keep star player happy and making hasty move. can you say desperation mode?

Trying to make Chris Paul happy may cost them long term and if Paul leaves sooner then later they are screwed.

[v3.0]

Originally Posted by Cannonball Well, Martin is 6'7". If there were a guard to get some minutes at SF (like when we have both Brooks and Lowry in the game), it'd probably be Martin.

Martin has a tough time guarding physical shooting guards , so unless they have a match up on the floor that can hide Martin on the D side, I don't see many 3 matchups that Martin can handle defensively well.

[Hippieloser]

Originally Posted by FLASH21 No way, Shane will start and if Chase shows drastic improvement on D he could earn his way into starting at SF. He's better suited, as of right now, coming off the bench anyway.

Oh, I agree. I just think Chase will earn the starting spot before the end of Ariza's contract, possibly as soon as the trade deadline this year. The Rockets are certainly going to give him that chance, anyway.

Ariza's not bad, but he is who he is. First half of last season proved conclusively he has absolutely no upside. Time to explore the upside of Budinger and Lee, who appear to have it in no short supply.

[ASidd_1990]

Originally Posted by rockets934life Trying to make Chris Paul happy may cost them long term and if Paul leaves sooner then later they are screwed.

They should have trade CP3 during or after the draft and hand over the keys to Collison. Stubborn GM's don't want to accept the fact that their star players are gonna leave.

[Hayesfan]

Originally Posted by ASidd_1990 They should have trade CP3 during or after the draft and hand over the keys to Collison. Stubborn GM's don't want to accept the fact that their star players are gonna leave.

He's not just a stubborn GM, he's a new GM. That makes a lot of difference as well.

[DontTradeOswalt]

I really think Collison and Posey could've gotten someone better than Ariza, dumb move by NO