Article I came across about Ariza. Link to article Trevor Ariza has seen teammates earn All-Star trips. Dwight Howard went when Ariza played for Orlando and Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol did so when he was with the Lakers. One day, Ariza wants to make the voyage himself. "I've put in the work,'' Ariza said. "I want to be (an All-Star).'' The Houston shooting guard is realistic enough to know it won't happen this season. But he believes he has the potential to eventually share a February stage with teammates to which he once played second fiddle. Check that. More like sixth fiddle. Ariza won a ring last season with the Lakers. But, on a star-studded outfit, he was just the team's sixth-leading scorer with an 8.9 average, although that was a career high. The Lakers wanted to keep Ariza, 24, when he became a free agent not long after the victory parade. But his agent, David Lee, sought more money from the Lakers, willing to give Ariza a long-term contract starting at around the midlevel exception of $5.854 million. After the Lakers decided instead to turn to Ron Artest, Ariza ended up signing a deal with the Rockets not too much different from what the Lakers had offered, getting nearly $34 million over five years. But Ariza shrugs off talk about money to say he left the loaded Lakers in order to develop more as a player. "I (departed) to have more of an opportunity here to become more of a complete player,'' said Ariza, taken after his freshman year at UCLA in the 2004 draft by New York before being traded to Orlando in February 2006 and to the Lakers in November 2007. "I would be able to start here and become more of a player that I wanted to become ... I wanted to just expand my game and see how I can do playing in a situation where I have more of a bigger role on the team.'' Ariza, who started 20 games during the regular season for the Lakers before starting all 23 in the playoffs, had developed into a Lakers' defensive specialist. His last-second steals in two Lakers' wins over Denver in the Western Conference finals perhaps saved the season. But Ariza didn't believe he would develop into the player he wants with the likes of Bryant, Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum hogging the ball and the headlines. "He wanted to improve his overall game, and he didn't feel that was possible in L.A.,'' said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. "It's not L.A.'s fault, obviously. They've got arguably the best wing (Bryant) in the league and other great offensive players such as Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. He felt he wanted to expand his offensive game.'' So what have been the reviews so far? Well, Ariza is leading the Rockets, who are without stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, with a 17.6 scoring average, well above his career mark entering the season of 6.9. And he certainly can't complain about his team-high average of 38.9 minutes. But far less thrilling is Ariza's shooing percentage of 38.2 percent, including 32.8 percent on three-pointers. "It's up and down,'' said Ariza, who said he has "no regrets'' about leaving the Lakers despite their 16-3 record to Houston's 11-9. "My shooting is not exactly where I want it to be ... But I know I'm not going to struggle like this the whole season.'' Ariza doesn't think he's ready this season to be an All-Star. Rockets coach Rick Adelman, though, doesn't rule out it happening one day. "He's going to take his lumps,'' Adelman said of adjusting to a bigger role. "He's going to be up and down but he's certainly proven he can become a much-better all-around player than he was (with the Lakers). ... He has the ability to become an All-Star. He just has to learn how to play 38 minutes a game, when the responsibilities are thrown to you and the ball is in your hands. What decisions do you make? After a year like this year, that's when he's got to take it to another level this summer and learn from what went on.'' For now, Ariza is worrying about the Rockets playing host Wednesday to Cleveland. The Cavaliers made a late push at Ariza during free agency last July but he said he'd already committed to the Rockets. "Cleveland did come in late, but I made my decision,'' Ariza said. "I'm a man of my word.'' Of course, the Cavaliers have a certain a guy who wears No. 23. Watching LeBron James go to All-Star Games didn't seem to be the best way for Ariza to develop the way he wants.
haha nice try Trevor but i dont think all the fans in China can make that happen (he could be an all-star in the future--I hope so, but not this year)
maybe that's why the article says... "The Houston shooting guard is realistic enough to know it won't happen this season. But he believes he has the potential to eventually share a February stage with teammates to which he once played second fiddle." I feel like it will be tough for him but he has the potential. He'll need to improve his outside shooting drastically before he gets a serious look.
Dude I saw you on TV the other day. Your like famous or something. Can I have your autograph and your Donte Greene jersey? :grin:
I don't think he'll get there, but he might be able to get close and this type of article can only be looked at in a positive light. This is a guy who wants to improve, knows he has to, and hopefully will. Plus, it's clear where he has to improve. 1. Ball-handling. 2. Shooting. Both are areas where he can improve. I think he already can be a good shooter, but this is the first year where he's become a volume shooter, and he has to learn how to take better shots, and to pace himself and his legs. He takes so many shots after he does a pump fake, and does get his defender off the ground, but the shot is still very difficult. I think he can become a better dribbler - just practice, practice, practice. Same thing as the shooting. This is his first year where he isn't just a slasher / spot up 3 point shooter, but actually has the ball in his hands. I don't think he'll get there as you can only improve so much, but as is, he's averaging 17 points, 5 boards, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals, has the second best plus/minus on the team. That stats that continue to stare out at you are the FG%'s and turnovers.... he apparently recognizes he needs to continue to improve...that's a great thing. he's not paid that much for his production.
I see glimpses of all-star potential from him, but you need more than a few 'all-star caliber' plays each game to be considered an all-star. with alot of hard work and determination, he could get there.
He can't be an all star shooting 38 %. Ariza is that guy at the Ymca that thinks he's good and he keeps shooting the ball instead of passing it and missing most of his shoots.
He has the green light bc RA wants him to learn as much as he can now. We are not winning a championship so let your players play and learn. Ariza does not jack up too many shots in the final minutes so I am assuming his knows what is best.
Did you even read the article? Or at least the part that was re-quoted by another member like 3 or 4 posts later? Ariza knows he is not an All-Star, but has the desire and potential to be one in the future. This isn't any different from a similar article a few days ago where everyone started raining down with a bunch of BS clowning on Ariza, when the whole point of the article wasn't Ariza saying he deserved to be an All-Star, but that's he's got the potential to become one while he is in Houston. Where is CH in a redundant Ariza thread when you need him?
he's NEVER going to be an all-star and i can make a bet with anyone who is serious. he hasn't improved one single bit in terms of his 1-on-1 game. the only way he'll make the all-star team is if our team gets like a top 2 record or something like that (ala how the pistons got 4 on the all-star team a few years back).
plus, the other thread i created where i claimed the hype may have gotten into his head, i may be right after all. it doesn't help the the team is pushing that thought into his head.
He has the potential and the confidence plus hes only 24 I see him as in allstar in the future if he can improve his handles.
He won't ever be an All Star. At 24 and having already been in the league for 5 seasons including a Championship one he is just about at his ceiling. I think this season will be great for helping him learn his true limitations as well as building confidence so that he can be a better role player next year and beyond. But he isn't going to add any new skills at this point in his career. Instead, lets hope he polishes the skills he has and learns not to try to do things outside of his skill set once Yao returns.
