Ariza, but that's tempered with what franchise player/s we get that Ariza can feed off from. This signing is a phase 1 to the Morey Masterplan.
Keeping Artest would have been good for this season because he CAN be that go-to guy, which means we might have been able to sneak into the playoffs this season. Picking up Ariza is good for the future because he can be a solid role player around a guy like Yao. Plus, if we can maybe get another star during free agency during the 2010 offseason (I'm not sure how the salary cap works) then it would make it that much better. Personally, I'm willing to sacrifice one season to build toward the future, so I like Ariza over Artest.
i think artest is the better player NOW. but in a year or so, i think ariza will be way more valuable. like the move, would choose ariza.
I take Ron Ron over Ariza due to lack of watching Ariza playing the past few years,I still remember the first time I saw him in Orlando jersey,he's soo athletic and energetic on the court,but at that moment,his shooting touch was awful. Last season in the Semis against Lakers,and also couple of games I watched Lakers taking on the Denver Nuggets,he's incredibly smart on the court while the game is on the line,also he's improved his 3pt shot and free throws. Maybe I follow Ron Ron's plays so much throughout the season,just wait and see what's goin to happen next season with Ariza in RED.
Ariza is a better fit for us in this situation. What I'm most worried about though is how stacked the Lakers are now. You have Artest and Kobe, two amazing defenders that rival the Battier/Artest combo we had last year. Not to mention they have TWO 7 footers backing them up in the middle. The Rockets are going to have to make some serious moves if we want to be a title contender in the next few years.
The length of the contract would be a huge factor. If both contracts were 5 years long it wouldn't even be a contest imo. Ariza is my favorite at this moment, but not by a huge margin. I do worry about his injury history and whether he could continue to develop after signing his first big long-term contract. But still, I don't see how Artest can play any better than this year and Ariza has unrealized potential.
Well from what I've seen Ariza can NOT become a go to guy. He might be able to develop his offensive skills and create his own shots from time to time but I just don't see how he can create his own shots constantly. His ball handling is just not there yet and at this stage of his career you are asking too much from him to become a go to guy all of sudden.
Easy: Ariza by a mile. At the MLE, he is probably worth it. I'm glad Ron Ron is gone. One year was enough.
Ariza AKA battier....now we have 2 of the same type player on our team, one is younger and more athletic(ariza) and the other has better defense(battier) and both together don't add up to artest's offense. but i argree that we should just let artest AND wafer go! since yao is out for the season.
Ariza : young activie good team defense intelligent Artest : old activie good individual defense pertinacious silly experience? Ariza had won a champion, so many playoffs! why not Ariza?
I´d go with Ariza. Ron is better at killing the other team but he is much better in killing his own team.
I only voted Ariza because I think the CURRENT young point guards benefit from not having to defer to Artest. So you get overall more team play and team building. Otherwise it'da been Artest. For all his quirks he's the better player.
Artest, Yao, and T-mac failed so miserably because Artest wanted to control the ball just as much as McGrady whenever they were on the court...I think Ariza coulda been excellent if he was here last season.
