So... could there possibly be a better comparison to this trade than the Alston/Lowry trade the Rockets pulled off two seasons ago? Seriously, they both practically have the same exact characteristics. It seems Morey and his guys have been extremely high on Lee since he entered the league. And usually when Morey and co. have the opportunity to scout a player for two years and they still think he can be a very solid player after that time... you can pretty much take that to the bank. At the end of the day, Morey's calling the shots, and I certainly trust him to do what is best for the team.
i don't think he believes what he is saying himself... i don't think rox are tough enough in the paint... and now without ariza... our defense will suffer even more
Makes perfect sense. Lose the overpaid horridly inefficient player with the attitude, gain a younger player with more upside who will probably be better very soon even if it doesn't seem like it now. Give recently drafted young gun with tremendous talent minutes to blossom. Save plus dollars. The more I think about this trade, the more I am impressed with Daryl Morey.
Morey had more than 2 years to scout Ariza before signing him last year. Look what happened here. I don't understand the trade for Lee, when we have Martin and Taylor already.
One player doesn't carry a team defensively. As a whole the team has to play defense if they wanted to be good. Ariza was only 1/5 of the D.
But you think keeping an inefficient SF with a long, relatively expensive contract when we have two other SF is a good idea. Factor in that Taylor has only played garbage minutes except when injuries forced the coach to put him in and you don't think adding a legit backup SG while saving $4+million is a good idea. I can't for the life of me understand how anyone who actually watches the games thinks this wasn't a great move.
amen... what has JT ever done on the court?? People on here talk about JT like he is some all star... heck he isnt even in the rotation!!
I don't understand the Trevor Ariza comment. Bringing in Ariza wasn't a bad move by any stretch of the imagination... and I don't think this trade is an indication that Morey believes that it was a mistake. I just think Morey saw the opportunity to get a player of equal value to Ariza for a MUCH cheaper price and he took advantage of it. That's what good GMs do. And backup SG is the one place the Rockets didn't have a player to fill in for. Sure, Taylor could play there, but he's a young, inexperienced player that has a long ways to go before he becomes a major piece to the team. Lee is much more established and has proven to be quite successful in the inside-out offensive game (while in Orlando). He's also a really good defender and pretty athletic. Basically, he is to Kevin Martin what Kyle Lowry is to Aaron Brooks.
Morey never targeted Ariza. I'm sure he scouted him, just like he scouts every player in the league. The only reason we signed Ariza was because there was an opening when Artest signed with the Lakers. The same Artest that we gave up assets to acquire. So instead of letting those assets go to waste, we got fair market value in return. This is not to say we were after him all along. On the other hand, we were targeting Lowry. We were targeting Martin. And yes, we were targeting Lee. The lesson? Morey gets what Morey wants. Or at least he is damn persistent about it.
I was ready to trade Ariza for a cheeseburger last year when he was "the man" but I am not sure about this trade. Typical fan I guess: can't be pleased. The real reason I believe he was traded is to rid the team of the last remnant of Tracy McGrady (i.e. the #1 jersey). The universe is balanced once again.
Don't forget that when Morey acquired Ariza, he didn't know that Chase Budinger would fall so far in the draft or that he would have as successful a rookie year as he did. Plus, we had no shooting guard after Artest left. Ariza was not my favorite player, but I wouldn't call signing him a mistake.
