and just fyi, to re-iterate, Ariza had higher salaries options from a few other teams. To think he would turn them down for 6th man? Get real. Guarantee inside talks gave him a starting position.
It will probably be Shane Battier as far as who starts for the small forward position. I could see Rick Adelman using Trevor Ariza as a 6th man and I would be a pretty good try and a good idea. Ariza would get a lot more touches anyways, I would trust Luis Scola in the starting lineup to be the 1st option to begin the season. Ariza would be a great #1 option on the bench, and he probably won't mind it. However, I truly hope we end up trading Tracy McGrady for a better shooting guard in the end, because I don't want to deal with him anymore. I have no choice but to root for him on the court until he's no longer wearing a Houston Rockets Jersey. I truly hope we end up getting a player like Rip Hamilton or Michael Redd, players that can be greatly benefited by Yao when he comes back. But just to answer your question OP, It's going to be Battier IMO.
I think he had the same offer not a higher one. Paying a shane battier type payer more than 6mil is a lot.
I can see that happening too. Few years ago (the 22 game-win streak year), he sat out for a handful of games and came back coming off the bench and had Luther Head starting in his place. Once Adelman felt comfortable with Macs conditioning, he put him back in the starting 5 and had a good rest of the season.
I would consider running with no center against smaller teams Brooks T-Mac Ariza Battier Scola against bigger opponents Brooks T-Mac Ariza Battier Andersen Unless they trade Battier, they have to find someway to play Ariza & Battier 30+ minutes a game, and I think going small is better way of getting those minutes rather than going with Ariza at the 2.
I think season opener the lineup will be: Brooks Ariza Battier Scola Anderson Once T-Mac comes back, he'll be 6th man until he gets his conditioning right. Then once he starts, they'll slide Ariza to the 6th man spot. To finish games they'll have Mac, Ariza, and Battier all in, and have either Scola or Landry finishing games. Of course these lineups could be possibilities if there are NO MORE moves to be done..
If he comes back, the startling lineup would be: Andersen Scola Ariza McGrady Brooks It's not that bad, I admit.
i'm sure morey WANTS to trade tracy, but he wants to trade tracy for something good (all-star type player or really high draft picks), which is highly unlikely. morey can trade tracy anytime he wants b/c i'm sure there are teams who are willing to pick up his expiring contract, but morey only wants the right deal. and i'm sure in the back of morey's mind he wants to see what kind of tracy he'll see this season.
I wonder since hes been working with grover, if he will be all conditioned when he has his first game of the season.
Adelman will probably take it slow with McGrady coming off the bench, Ariza will most likely start, I could see Battier being the sixth man and Ariza moving to the SF position or something when and if Mac does come back strong.
Even a 50% Tmac is vastly superior offensive player than either Ariza or Battier. I don't see how he can come of the bench. Aaron Brooks is that good of a passer. If Tmac doesn't start who will be passer. I think Tmac should be at least 60-70% at the start of the season. I think he didn't have the serious microfracture that amare had.
Not bad at all. It would be even great if Andersen becomes productive and give quality minutes at the 5.
Hopfully david anderson turns out to be what scola turned out to be they both were draft in 02 and played overseas for awhile
Agreed. We will sign him to a cheap deal afterwards and still have money to on someone more than the MLE next summer. TD3
You and I both know he won't come off the bench. You can play devil's advocate all you want play and try to be super literal with the "it's a coaches decision" type of stuff. We both know it goes beyond that. He's still T-Mac. He's still the league's highest paid player. He's playing for a contract. He's talked about returning to elite status and being an All-Star caliber player. He is absolutely, under no circumstances, going to accept coming off the bench. It's better for management to recognize and deal with this than it is to force the issue and perhaps watch him pull an AI (thereby killing his trade value).
I don't understand the mysticism behind this question. I mean Brooks is widely accepted as our starting point guard (aside from a diminishing group that think he's not a real pg and kyle lowry should start, thus taking even more firepower out of our offensively anemic starting lineup). I mean, if we're assuming McG will be there opening night, starting, it's fairly obvious that he, and by extension the team, is better off with a good shooter (brooks) next to him. McG is our premier decision maker anyway, so Lowry's best attribute (penetration) wouldn't be fully utilized. At the 3 spot, barring trade, it's Battier. These claims of Ariza being guaranteed a starting spot or whatnot are not only ridiculous, they're also dangerous. First, no coach is going to guarantee such a thing without even seeing how the player fits in with his other players, some of which will be more talented (possibly evenso at his position). Unless you're an alpha dog elite player, you don't get the priviledge of being guaranteed anything, aside from the checks you'll be cashing. I wish people would stop spreading these lies about playing time guarantees or shot attempt guarantees or starting spot guarantees or money back guarantees (though that would be useful in case of Cato-ism, aka Shandon-ism). People hear things repeated enough and assume it's fact. Well here's a fact: There were no guarantees given, nr can anyone source or cite anything from Morey or Adelman to the contrary. Second, we've all heard (and seen) that it takes an inordinate amount of time to learn Adelman's offense. Now, if all Ariza is going to do is go Battier on us and pitch a tent in the corner, complete with marshmallows and BBiQ chips, then that's pretty easy to pick up. But I expect a little more than that from a player with more physical talents than Battier. That said, it'll take time to integrate those talents within the system. Also to be considered is Battier serves as the defacto "coach on the floor", especially defensively. There's NO WAY he gets put on the bench to begin the season for a 1st year guy, who would be learning on the fly how best to fit in, nevermind being the oncourt brains of the defense. Unless, that is, you think Aaron or Tracy or Scola or Anderson are going to fill that seat (in which case you've eaten one too many of those marshmallows). Scola's entrenched at the 4 (although I am 100% in favor of trading him at the deadline while teams covet what will surely be overly-inflated statistics, what with him being our ONLY low post option). Anderson (*sigh*) is the only legit center on our roster with fully functioning feet, so...whoopee...get the creampuff out there. He's a poorman's Okur and I wouldn't want the rich one, but I'll be damned if Chuck (at 6'brick, and unicycle free throws) or Hulk (at 6'brick and a serious threat to log more fouls than minutes) are going to start fulltime for this team. Chuck's defense is stellar, but Anderson's ability to space the floor and allow lanes for Brooks and McG will prove to be more valuable to the starting lineup. Chuck or Hulk's man being able to borrow Shane's tent and have a PaintParty would be absolutely crippling to our offense. Brooks McGrady Shane Scola Anderson Now that may change as Ariza gets more comfortable on both sides of the court and as his game (hopefully) develops. But in a league, conference, and division as competitive as ours, I don't foresee Adelman trotting out a lineup where the brains of our offense (McG) and defense (Battier) aren't getting serious minutes.
