But might the Lakers be willing to make it a S/T if it frees up their MLE as well? I would think its mutually beneficial, but maybe they're willing to sacrifice their MLE to stick it to us.
The contract lengths don't need to match on sign and trades. Trades just have to match the first year's salary. From what I know about the CBA they can still make this deal a sign and trade because nothing has been officially signed yet. But if it's going down as a regular FA signing then it's probably because the teams don't want to risk re-opening negotiations.
Do they have Ariza's Bird Rights? He switched teams mid-season a couple of times which makes it unclear to me if he was ever technically with the Magic for what the CBA defines as 3 years. If they didn't have the Bird Rights, then they would have been spending their MLE in a sign and trade anyway. EDIT: Nevermind. After re-reading I'm pretty sure his Bird Rights have transferred everywhere he's gone.
Birth Date June 30, 1985 Birth Place Miami, FL Height 6-8 Weight 210 lbs. At 6-8 I would see him at SF over SG. but .. . if we have no one better. Brooks - Ariza - Battier would not upset me too too much Rocket River
all I know is on the biggest stage, the man stepped up and hit threes and had key steals. He knows how to win and now he has the opportunity to really become a star. Worst case scenario he is robin to our eventual batman (healthyYao or big free agent)
This is going to be the first time in his career when he will be given a major roll. On this team as it is currently set up he is the second or third option of offense. He is either going to rise to the occasion or fade to the background. I hope he rises to the occasion and decides to seize the opportunity to be great.
There's no reason for them to stick it to us. I'm sure they'd love to have the MLE around to use in case someone offers Shannon Brown 3 mil.
Lakers would have to agree to the same length and money to Artest as Ariza and the Rockets, unless it's allowed that the Lakers can throw in some fillers. I don't think the Lakers want to commit to Artest for 5 years.
They have his bird rights, the 3 years just means 3 years as an NBA player, it doesn't matter how many teams he's been on.
Sign and trade is not happening. Don't think of Ariza as your alpha-dog, think of him in conjuntion with Bosh or Joe Johnson in 2010. The Rockets are clearly re-making this team quickly on the fly. Maybe they take a small step back this year (though I will never underestimate this administration) but they are setting up for a great re-load in 2010. This team is going to run like crazy. They may not win a title, but I'll sure as hell show up and watch them.
Yeah I was about to add that I don't think we will see Ariza's true upside until the 2010-2011 season, if Morey does what we expect with this team. Unless he somehow makes a great deal in trading T-mac.
Bird rights follow the player if they've been traded. So since he was trade from the Knicks to Magic for Francis, and then traded to Lakers for Cook and Evans, then the Lakers would still have his bird rights so that shouldn't be a problem.
Hmm, I hadn't thought about it like that. I want to disagree with you, but you might be onto something.
This is why we went hard for Ariza- Best player available for rebuilding. He can defend, he is young and he is a developing scorer. It isn't a stupid contract for a starter. We are rebuilding- I think Brooks, Ariza and Scola are staying put. I would be surprised if we trade Battier. The next move will be signing a center. But they may wait on that do get the best value. The core of this team is now Ariza, Battier, Brooks, Scola, Landry, Lowery and Dorsey. We are officially in full on rebuild mode. Can Dorsey play center? I think we will sign a veteran center to start unless Dorsey really comes on strong. I don't think we will trade TMac unless we get really good value in return now. I think they will now take their time with Yao and get him right. Be patient, so far we aren't doing anything stupid and short sided.
