Ariza said Morey told him before free agency he wouldn't be back with the team.

True. Half the facts isn't all the facts. There was more than an offer made. There was an understanding. Just like there was an understanding when we traded for CP3 that we were going to give him the max. There was an understanding between Morey, Ariza, Harden, and Paul here concerning Ariza.

Yes, there is more to it. And Ariza isn't upset at Morey or the Rockets. And he would have been back under the right circumstances. (And he still might be back under the right circumstances.)

Yes. But that's not the complete timeline either. There was plenty of stuff that went down before free agency began. There was an understanding of what was feasible and what was best for both sides. We didn't want to lose Ariza and he knows that and knew it ahead of time. And Ariza would have made sacrifices to stay under the right circumstances and the Rockets knew that ahead of time. And both sides knew that if things fell a certain way....a high offer without a commitment from Lebron...or with Lebron committed elsewhere......that Ariza would likely have to take that offer.

That's what happened.

Guys...There WAS an understanding between the parties involved that if Lebron wanted to come that we were going to add him to the team through CAP SPACE! We were going to generate the cap space to sign him outright. That was determined back before the trade deadline and it was known to Cleveland to apply pressure to them in regards to trading for LeBron at the deadline.

It was further discussed after the season and all parties, Morey, Paul, Harden, and yes.....Ariza, were all in agreement. The core of the team would have been Harden, Paul, Lebron, Ariza, Tucker surrounded by minimum salary signings and a couple youngsters.

When you understand this, then you can understand these quotes from Ariza in better light.

There was a price check and an agreement. Ariza needed to go get his money. He would've gotten 3-5 million more here.....over 2 seasons. So, he's probably money ahead at this point. Unless he totally crashes out this season. I think he'll wind up on a contender and still prove he brings value. And he'll have another choice on which direction he wants his career to go next summer.

He's been a great role player. Coming down to the end. I'm sure he'd like a ring. But money becomes important too for guys like this that aren't the top tier guys. Maybe it works out. Maybe we trade for him back. Wizards aren't going anywhere. Maybe we get him back on a buyout. Maybe we never see him in a Rockets uni again. In any case it's all good. The relationships with the Rockets and Harden/Paul are solid. And there's no "hurt feelings" barriers between any of them that would prevent a Rockets/Trev reunion.

Peace on earth.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

 

A few of Morey’s major acquisitions.
Harden (hosed OKC)
Dwight (huge deal at the time)
CP3 (robbed the Clips)

Who do you suppose had the final say and the most to lose in hiring D’Antoni? That was Morey’s pick. When it was announced that D’Antoni was a candidate to be Head Coach there was a collective WTF around here and we all thought no effing way. When D’Antoni actually got the job people thought Morey lost his mind and wanted him fired.

You must be new.

 

in all honesty, who really gives a $hit about this anymore? hes not even on our team lol lets focus on who we're about to get

 

looks like alot of people still do, cause alot of people are still talking about it and have continued to do so

 

It absolutely would be a bad look if Morey was just like "you're not coming back," period. Considering Ariza's contributions over the years. I'm saying that I just don't think that was all there was to it, if Morey was like "given our financial situation, you won't be back on the team" then that'd be more reasonable.

 

you're making it dramatic in those words of "you're not coming back" and it doesn't sound like that's what happened. morey again was being honest about what was feasible or likely.

 

your so right i cant believe i didnt notice

 

Well there ya have it....so much for the "Ariza never gave us a chance" crowd.

Turns out the Rockets moved on......broke up a championship level team on their own.

NOT ALL THAT SMART, TBH!

DD

 

Going by your track history, this means Morey is doing great.

 

Didn't want to match/overpay for Parsons
Didn't want to overpay for DMo
Didn't want to overpay for Ariza

Who else am I missing?

 

Add TJones to that list... sort of.

 

One rotation player already dumped. What am I missing???

 

Spoiler

 

I think they did not trust Dmo's back and I dunno how tough the physical was. He failed the physical and Morey just moved on.

However, his back is fine in China.

This feels like a reversed Kawhi situation. Felt dark and twisted. Bridges burned without even communicating much.

 

Only you have no source whatsoever to say that really happened except the voice in your head.

Here's the timeline of what almost certainly did happen. Only the 3rd bullet point lacks confirmation.

• During the season, a few months before the FA signing period, Trevor switched agents.
• The new agents let it be known that their client was expecting a contract of 4-5 years in the range of $50M-$60M.
• Morey (and probably Tilman) decided it wasn't in the team's best interest to give Trevor that kind of money.
• Morey tells Trevor, "It's not gonna happen."
• Trevor gets a 1-year offer for $15M from the Suns and jumps on it immediately.

 

His back is just not up to NBA-standards then

 

Plus Trevor was in high demand despite his 33 years of age. He was viewed as a premium 3 and D guy still.

 

I buy the theory that it was more Tillman that probably didn't want Ariza back for money reasons and game 7's shooting performance. Tillman seems like a pretty passionate gm for better/worse and probably thought what he said earlier in the season "we'll be even better defensively" (without him). He was wrong and our replacement of Ariza sucked so bad that we've just put our 5 best players in the starting lineup instead. Of course his age plays a part too.

Of course we all know about about the money issue, but can't blame Ariza for wanting to get paid and if offered that much why not?

If anything, with all the attention he's gotten this year in response to our crappy start, we as Rockets fans should applaud him for being that "glue guy" we needed to make all of our playoff runs. Sure he had deficiencies in creating his own shot (which is why he went 0-12 and you can count something like 8 of those being situations where he had to try to make something out of nothing), but we all knew that wasn't his game in the first place when we thought he'd be our tmac replacement way back when lol. And when he got open looks, more often than not, he would hit them. He also was one of the better off ball players on our team, while being our best defender in the worst and best years.

Don't let the media's over-estimation of his value make you as a Rockets fan, who actually watched every single game, respond by saying he's crap or that he's just like any other average nba player. Ariza is the type of player we need to cement what's lacking in our roster. Whether we bring him back or not, "glue guys" are what all truly great teams need and we should applaud him for his time here (like they did last night) and wish him luck with whatever he decides to do. It's another reason I wish he woulda gotten a chip with our team last year. He deserved it with us.

 

But I will admit, it was freakin weird to watch him guard harden and get stripped by cp. Our stars got the best of him for sure, but he still gave the wizards a consistency they severely lack. Watching him see his team totally incapable/unwilling to defend reminded me of that year we made the 8th seed. Our d was so trash then and Ariza was always locked in only to turn around and see everyone's guy get free for layups/kickouts.

 

to all you clowning on Morey....you the type of friends that bounce when things get rough... we wouldnt be in this position if it wasnt for Morey. We got Harden, WCF, MVP, EotY, CotY, 6motY ,3 point records...and we have a bad start to a season you ready to fire the guy....shame on any of you who **** on Morey.