http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/07/trevor_ariza_ma.html Trevor Ariza makes the Rockets better Not that I disagree... but there's just a nagging feeling that Mr. Justice would have gushed over anyone the team brought in. He seems to be quite impressed with Morey.
This was a good pickup though. I wouldn't say he is better than Ron now, but in one or two years, he could very well be the star of this team.
Well, it appears that old Richie has a crush on DM. Let's hope Morey doesn't fire our strength and conditioning coach like Rick Smith did on the Texans, or we'll have to read another week-long "rip on the GM fest" b/c Richie's buddy got let go. such an unprofessional jackass
Of course he was. He would have to been negative on the trade if he called it a great move today. That's his M.O.
Ehh, I retract my statement. I dunno what I was thinking. Ariza in one or two years will be Gasol on the Lakers. Needs a first option, but will be the definite second option.
I feel ashamed that this noob has more posts than me. Gasol is the best and most complete offensive post player in the league at this current moment. Please don't compare him to Ariza. Ariza will just be one of the best role players in the league one day. He may already be close, but he'll never be a go-to guy. However, I am always up for him to prove me wrong.
I think Morey will regret placing more value on Azira than Gortat. You don't let quality big men slip through your fingers like that. Talented wing players, however, at the most common commodity in the NBA.
If I was assigning values I would probably have Ariza and Gortat about equal. We needed to replace Ron with a more than competant defensive asset to make sure we keep our bread and butter (defense) Ariza has some potential and I see him as Shawn Marion without the ability to play pf. Still dont see why we wouldnt do the sign and trade scenario a few have mentioned. Definetly thought Gortat was more needed than Ariza at this point. Losing Artest and Wafer if we dont re-sign him will definetly hurt us. I would be building a Scola/Battier package for the best youth value we can get. I still think DM will look to use next years draft pick and some young assets to retool after this year and not have a long rebuilding process.
Quality big men? How long has Gortat been tagged with "quality" because I haven't heard/seen this dude except for the 2009 playoffs and remember he was playing to stay on the team.. not to mention he was a D-leaguer. You wanna pay a D-leaguer the MLE? Let me know when he's quality for a few years when he's getting paid a big fat contract...
quality role players are just as valuable as quality big men. james posey, ariza, and battier are probably the only role players worth that kind of money. i'd put ariza ahead of posey now.
i like the move actually. ariza is much younger and only will improve. if we can now trade t-mac for something valuable (and hope yao comes back) were actually a contender again.
If you want the dissenting opinion go read Jerome Solomon's tweets (why do I follow.. simply for the humor! )
Ariza is definately a good pickup. He is tall, young, and athletic. We just need a good starting center now.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Morey tried to get Gortat first, saw that Gortat was going to take Mavs offer, then redirected his efforts to Ariza. I don't know what he actually offered Gortat, but I'm willing to say it was the same money he offered Ariza. Seems like Morey had the Rockets' priorities correct.
Thumbs up. Gortat looks good, but honestly, he showed up in the playoffs and that's it. He's got his $5M deal, he might start slacking off now. That's all speculation though. It's not the end of the world, there are other big men we can take. Pacculia is the most realistic.
