[Chad Ford Insider] Hou working on 4 team deal [Update: Done Deal - Ariza for C Lee]

I thought he was only willing to pay the tax on a legit star, we didnt pick one of those up

 

Leebigez,

It's about time that you realized this and give up on Don Nelson pursuing Shane Battier. I have been saying this over and over again. Nobody wants no stats all-stars like Battier. Don Nelson was never going to trade for Battier, not even in on the last year of his contract. I am glad you have come over to the dark side. :grin

I wonder when you realize the same thing about Jeffries. Battier and Jeffries will most likely be traded in February. They will play 2 more months and not be resigned by the team that trades for them.

 

How do you know he wont be good? Last year was his rookie year and it was very good.

 

C-lee is a better offensive player than Ariza:

Trevor Ariza: 14 pts, 0.488 TS%, 0.334 3PT%

Courtney Lee: 12.5 pts, 0.525 TS%, 0.338 3PT%

Keep in mind C-Lee was playing on the craptacular Nets and was getting swarmed whenever he had the ball, while Ariza had some quality guys like Brooks and Scola playing with him. Expect C-Lee's numbers to be better in this team, as Yao Ming and Brooks will give him the space he needs to shoot open 3's. His rookie season C-Lee was shooting in the 0.40's

 

Then and now Morey himself was/has been talking up Les's willingness to pay the tax with no mention of any caveats.

 

He might be good but hes not going to be Kobe ****ing Bryant here.

People on this board make him sound like the next Brandon Roy. I think Bud's max potential is Rudy Gay.

 

Rudy Gay is pretty good IMO.

 

C-bud played during the summer league and didn't exactly dominate against scrubs, in fact he missed most of his shots and didn't play good D. Battier will start, C-bud will come off the bench. If he takes it up a notch on the regular season, fine. But all indications point to C-bud being a benchplayer.

 

Umm... Devin Harris and Brook Lopez?

 

He'll put 8ppg in 20 minutes a night. Big whoop.

Ariza was also jacking up a lot of shots earlier in the year cause the Rockets didn't have an established scorer yet and a lot of uncertainty. With Martin, Yao, and Most Improved Brooks, Ariza's shooting would have certainly improved next season as well. It improved when Martin came on the team.

 

yeah well on that note i agree, PR. never really bought it

only can hope yao takes a nice pay cut!

 

Just because you're willing to pay the tax doesn't mean you're not gonna go under it if the opportunity presents itself. Why the hell are you guys so keen on Les wasting money away? That he money he doesn't pay in the tax can go to buying picks instead.

C-lee is at worst a lateral move and at best an upgrade over Ariza. Why the hell are you complaining about it?

 

Then we are screwed because Battier is turning into garbage quickly.

 

Man, 46 pages. My brain hurts. Ill try to make a contributing post anyway

Morey is a chess master with NBA players. If your judging the endgame by one exchange of pieces, your not seeing the bigger picture. Continuing this analogy, were seeing a knight exchanged for a bishop, and the argument ensues to which piece is/was more valuable to the Rockets. What I see is a fair exchange of pieces (arguably), but Morey has gained a better position on the board. Good contracts are more valuable than mediocre ones. Anytime you exchange a $35m piece for a $7m one, where the pieces are fairly equitable, you have gained something. You have gained flexibility in the future if nothing else.

Much of the discontent I read here is mostly impatience. Being a impatient person myself, I understand the desire for the big deal now attitude. Its as though a fairly lateral deal now somehow hampers a big deal later. In this case, the only possibility of that being the case with this trade is if the future partner in question wanted Ariza in the deal. While only a fortune teller could say for sure, obviously Morey felt like his best trade chips for the future didnt include Ariza. That piece was best used now.

 

If Budinger cant beat out Battier then Morey has been doing a horrible job.

 

Lopez is overrated and Harris was clearly not recovered from his injury last year. Did you forget they were a couple of games away from being the worst team in NBA history?

 

Thats best case scenario and not often to players turn into the best case scenario.

He is not a starter in this league as of now. He is defense is way too poor.

And as roslolian said...he didnt have have a dominant summer league to be as hyped up as he is.

 

Since Battier is a no-stats all star I'm amazed you can tell if he's garbage or gold

Seriously though I wouldn't sweat it. Even if C-bud is just a benchplayer that's still a bargain for the 60th pick in the draft, and honestly good Sfs are a dime a dozen anyway. Battier and C-bud are good for sopping up minutes, then come crunchtime you have a backcourt of Martin, Brooks and Lee. Seems awesome to me.

 

This was mostly salary dump, C Lee is just a bonus. That is how I look at it anyways. I would rather have the Posey deal but whatever, its not my money.

 

He will be a very good player in this league but not an all star as many on this board think he will be. He is one of my favorite players on the team but still question his defense. To me his potential is a good sixth man. Much of his praise probably stems because of his race and the things he can do are those associated more with another race.