FRICKEN TOO RIGHT !!!! It is what I have been saying all along.....too long of a contract for a bit role player, when we don't even KNOW what role we will need him to fill....until Yao's situation is finalized. DD
Calling him a permanent role player is a bit short-sighted. He's tall, athletic, can run, gets steals, and is developing his shot (as we saw throughout the year). He has tremendous growth potential, which is obviously what Morey is banking on.
no offense (okay only marginal offense) but this is why you are not a GM. getting ariza at that price is a hell of a deal. if you can get a brand new porsche for $25K you buy it, because it's worth $75K. even if the rockets don't NEED ariza, they are still getting him for value, and he would be a great piece and great contract for any trade conversations going forward. stop thinking so short term. really. we know what role he has. play d, work hard, replace some of ron's production, regardless of whether yao is there or not.
I am thinking LONGER term....where we have very few contracts beyond 2010, which will allow us to chase one of the premier players avaiable. Signing Ariza stops us from being able to offer a max contract to any free agent. That is why I am agains the trade, primarily. If I were I would not have to explain rudimentary asset management to people on the GARM....LOL. DD
there are plenty of pieces you could move between now and then. having a 2010 strategy on the back burner should not prevent you from making intelligent roster management decisions.
Ugh, Seeing as how ESPN Radio broke the story and yet it's not even posted on their site, I hold myself back from buying in. Yahoo! has been pretty on the ball lately and yet there is nothing there either. Then again, this was my EXACT same logic with Yao and I was wrong.
I don't think signing Ariza for 5 years at MLE money is intelligent. I think it is holding onto the pipe dream that Yao might somehow get healthy. I am in favor of blowing it up, and starting completely over.....and until the team gets a star player, getting role players for long contracts is not a good move. IMO... DD
also from mo williams twitter. take with a grain a salt as it is twitter "hey tweet homies,i just got word that T.ariza is thinking he wants to be a cav, and not a rocket!thats my boy!he might come to c-town baby."
your position in this debate is on the wrong side of intelligent asset management. you are clearly suggesting that we not take advantage of an obvious arbitrage opportunity, that we NOT buy low, and that we simply hide our cash under a mattress, cross our fingers, and hope that something falls in our lap next year. the premier free agents, i.e. the ones you would want to have the cash to get have not even announced their intentions. so as of now you are banking on a hope and a prayer that the guys you like will a) be available, b) want to come here, c) will actually be able to lead you to a championship, and d) are worth the opportunity cost of all of the smart things you could have done with the money between now and then.
what you do with ariza has nothing to do with yao. i dont understand that logic at all. in any other free agent market ariza would be worth much more than he is getting at full MLE.