All things considered Ariza is the best option out of the two, he's still young and has potential. I like Artest's attitude much more than his general game play and his playoff performance hardly made me pine for anything. Artest is good in spots but any sort of long term commitment to him wouldn't have been wise IMO. I think Morey made the best move possible.
Artest is a more gifted offensive player, but I feel Ariza fits this team better. It would be a much harder decision if Artest was younger. Right now he's on the wrong side of the hill -- Ariza at 23 is already a much better defender and shooter, and plays smarter on the court even if he can't create his own shot. And as many of you know, the greatest assets to Adelman are smart players who know how to make the right play at the right time. Wise decision by the Rockets the way I see it.
Ariza is everything we want T-Mac to be under Adelman. a long wing who can shoot the 3, slash to the hoop, and most importantly move without the ball. i think Morey knows Ariza can flourish in this system just like Mike Bibby flourished in Sacramento. Plus the kid is improving every year.
Minus the ability to create a shot for himself or his teammates, shoot midrange jumpers coming off a screen or beat his man off the dribble, of course. I love the Ariza signing, but let's not go overboard here.
i would say Ron Artest because before Ariza was with the Lakers, he wasn't very well known. He use to be a bench player.
Yes, but I decided that option would make more sense if I had initially asked "Should the Rockets have taken Artest or Ariza" rather than "Do you prefer the Rockets take Artest or Ariza." I didn't want to ask the first question, because what the Rockets should do opens up a whole can of worms that would distract from the comparison I was hoping for people to make in this thread. If you really have no preference either way, just don't vote in the poll. But from your words, it sounds like you're slightly more in favor of getting Ariza (even if we might have overspent, though I thought your complaint with our management is that we don't overspend enough) rather than resigning a player we don't need.
One more thing: Do you really want Ron Artest to be a major component of your team for the next 5 years? A player who will surely take it upon himself to be the #1 offensive option (at least for next year, if not more)? A guy who will play Ron-on-five and jack up shots w/out taking a peek at the rest of his teammates? A guy who has already peaked? Ron is great as a 3rd option on a championship contender. When he takes it upon himself to do more than that (which we've seen many times this year) he can have an incredible game. But more often we've thrown our hands up and wondered why he's jacked up so many off balanced contested jumpers in a losing cause.
FWIW, I did not vote. Ariza is OK...like I stated...a smaller piece of the larger landscape. As you know, I'm not a big Morey fan. But the advantage he has in any discussion of this nature is he already knows what type of offers have been made for anyone the roster but especially Grady or Battier. BTW, since you're a big stats guy, check out Ariza's 2009 playoff stats on 82Games. Negative +/- and Roland. Curious.
i feel like we could be playing like the warriors from 2 years ago... don't know if that's such a good thing... but yeah, we do need to sign someone big...
I think just the opposite. Almost every player improves defensively as they mature and learn how to play defense at the NBA level. Ariza is young, and he has the physical tools to be an All-Defense type player. Offensively, I agree that he doesn't look to be a great offensive talent. A spot up shooter, a guy who can slash and finish on cuts to the basket, and a good transition player. All of that adds up to a player that can be a useful complimentary guy on offense, but not someone who we'll run plays for. As others have said, he's one piece and our biggest move (which probably won't happen this offseason, from the looks of it) has yet to come. We all know the type of player Ariza can be, and if he fulfills that potential MLE isn't overspending at all -- it could be a bargain. On the other hand, if his progress stagnates and he doesn't build on his playoff performance, this will turnout to be a bad deal. That's the gamble the Rockets are taking.
Ariza all the way. Just for being able to play within the system. Getting ready to see a lot more passes and fast break coming season.
When it comes attaching importance to 82games +/- and Roland Ratings in a single playoff postseason, you're a much bigger stats guy than I am. I've never paid much attention to it, for reasons I've gone through before.
I only like Ron as a 3rd option, and the likelyhood he's in that position in the next 3 years isn't that good. The thing that drove me nuts are his Ron-on-five moments, which were frequent. He had great moments and great games. And he and the rest of the team were put into a tough spot w/ all the injuries. We just need something else moving forward with a younger team. I'm lukewarm on Ariza. I gave him the edge because he can play team ball, is younger, and still has some room to grow.
Ya, the long term contract is something Morey has shown he doesn't like to commit to but I think it's necessary with young talent and particularly in this climate, it really makes a lot of sense. Put it this way if Ariza had the offseason he just had two years ago, he would be making a lot more than just the MLE. Assuming the economy improves in the next couple of years and the salary cap goes up, his contract signed in this economically depressed environment will seem pretty reasonable meaning he would have still have decent trade value even if we decide he isn't a good fit. If you take him for what he is right now - a solid all around athletic player with elite defensive skills and a streaky shooter, I think he will be a value at the MLE in a few years(again assuming the market improves). If he improves a bit(like let's say becoming a more consistent shooter), it just makes him all the more valuable.
BTW, I like Ariza as a better long term player for us. Artest always was meant to be a last piece "over the top" guy. He just doesn't make sense with a team in the middle of rebuilding - neither for us or for him. Ariza makes much more sense for a team looking to compete over the long term. Look at it like this - what's the game differential between having Artest over the next couple of years and having Ariza? I don't think by himself(without Tmac/Yao) Artest necessarily wins us more games considering how many he will lose us with his shot selection. His record with the Kings as the "man" wasn't particularly good. On the other hand, Ariza has proven that he can win games defensively alone. Maybe Ron gets us another win or two because he can get hot offensively, but I don't think the step back is as much as people here seem to think. To me Artest's biggest value was in the never quit attitude he brought to the team but if we are rebuilding, that's not as essential(again, see the Kings years). I hate to see Ron go because I genuinely liked him, but considering the circumstances we have been dealt, I like Ariza in place of him. Ariza and Brown were the only two Lakers players I liked. Glad we got him. Plus if we lose a few more games this year without an established star and get into the lottery, I like our odds with Morey in a much deeper draft heading into 2010 without Tmac's contract and on Yao's last year. I think that gives us a TON of options.
This poll is so BS! If Artest would of stayed with the Rockets and Ariza stayed with the Lakers, the results of this poll would of been drastically different. If you would of asked this question just 2 days ago, the results of this poll would of been way different. This cracks me up.
