How Did Artest/Ariza end up getting paid the same ?

simple. ariza just won a ring so every team overrated him

artest got into fights with kobe in playoffs so every team knew he was still nuts, plus he took a paycut to play with lakers. plus lakers offered all they could since artests bird rights were lost when we let him go.

 

Artest is not a go to guy...

 

yes...

 

Morey made the mistake of making personnel changes this summer while experimenting with peyote during his backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon. He was hallucinating and saw images of Trevor Ariza dribbling, making open shots and crisp passes. Peyote is obviously a powerful drug.

 

really not that hard to figure it out dude.

 

It's sad that folks don't understand this situation and just assume that their "worth" is the same because of their essentially identical contracts.

The fact is, like it or not, Ariza was paid fairly. He would have gotten more money if he signed elsewhere (where he would have come off the bench), and thus would have been overpaid. He's trying to become a star, but clearly his value as an asset to this team is to play a supplemental role alongside Yao.

Artest took a giant paycut. He also could have signed elsewhere for more. A lot more. For him it wasn't about the money; it was about voluntarily being Kobe's b****.

 

I think you are wrong bro..

Artest is not a better defender then ariza IMHO

artest has last two steps on the defensive end.

I liked artest but I will gurantee you that with artest players like brooks and landry wont be as good cause they wouldnt get the touches. Also artest doesnt slash!!

ariza slashes more which we need and he does alot of other things overall. He has way more room for improvment.

artest is a better shooter but I think ariza will get better. Probaly not as good as artest but ariza is much quicker and can get by his defender which artest can not.

Ariza does not stop the ball on the offense and shoots within the system as well. Ariza also is asked to do too much in the begining of the season and I think he is starting to pick it up on the offensive and doesnt shoot as much, overall I think ariza is a good player that will work with a superstar (yao) in the future.

(too lazy to proof read)

 

1)Artest is old and dealing with plantar on both feet. He's no longer an elite defender.
2)Artest took a paycut to go ring chase.
3) Artest is still making millions and can promote his rap albums/himself more since he's in L.A now.


So why does it sicken you?

 

When Yao comes back and we add another scorer, his shots will go down and his percentages will go up. He will be required to do less with the ball in his hands and can focus more on defense, spot up shooting, and slashing.

We get some stars in here and he starts playing more to his strengths he will look more like he's worth his contract.

 

Is he worth it? I'll preface by saying it's too early to determine; will have to wait and see how he plays alongside Yao (if he isn't traded before then, which I doubt will happen).

So far, yes he is worth the contract in my opinion. Adelman has given Ariza tremendous freedom throughout this season, unfathomable to many here. I take into consideration the team's expectations (which, to me, are still to feel things out this season, play hard and see what happens; I won't be disappointed if the team isn't in the playoffs). His shot selection isn't as abysmal as some say, it's just that he isn't making those wide-open shots (but then again, Scola's been streaky with his mid-range jumpers as well).

Percentage-wise Ariza's 3-PT shots are below great, but he (and the rest of the team) is taking more shots compared to previous years with Yao in the middle. Ariza, on any given night, can score 18-25 and is tough to guard.

Remember when Morey signed Ariza, he essentially wanted the defensive, athletic prowess that Ariza could bring. Anything else was a plus. I wouldn't say he's killing the team, but I don't know why or how anyone expected him to immediately be Mr. Consistent rising star in his 6th year in the NBA (this being his first as a true starter).

So do I think Ariza is worth the contract? If I had to decide today, I actually have to say yes considering he would have been overpaid anywhere else.

 

You do realize Ariza is at his best when he uses his athletic ability as a slasher to the rim, right? The other dimension of his offensive game is missing open 3-PT shots. Guarding open shots and trying to guard a guy who has cut around a back screen to the rim are different things.

If you were to scout Ariza you might let him drift around the perimeter freely, as per his disappointing 3-PT%. Clearly the guy should be making more shots, but give the guy credit for getting open. Ariza is still a guy that can (and should more often) cut to the basket. THAT is tough to guard.

You really don't like his game...but for what reasons?

 

Artest would be a better fit on this team than Ariza, imo. They are both blackholes, but at least Artest was somewhat more effective when it came to chucking, and he could muscle his way to the hoop for easy baskets. Plus, I think our on court chemistry was way better with Artest than it is now with Ariza.

 

i get tired of hearing all this talk about ariza being overpaid and/or sucking. He's not overpaid. Problem is we have a lot of players who are way underpaid and fans becomes spoiled and/or begin to think that's what certain players are worth, but Brooks isn't a million dllar player and scola and landry arent 3 mill dollar players. Ariza's pay is fair and right on. He's gonna pay a similar role to Battier eventually and Battier is overpaid by about 1-2 mill.

Artest basically took a paycut to ride the lakers' championship train and profit from the opportunities that come up when you play in hollywood. He's probably making the difference in endorsements and appearances.

 

cuz hes a scrub who was willin to do watever it took to ride the coattails of kobe