I think now that we have Martin, Ron Ron would be preferable. His defending is second to none, especially when he can focus solely on it. If he could keep from taking pretty much any shot at all, then we'd have the better one. But it is when we needed him to create on the offensive end that he started to cause us some problems.
Artest gave us more last year than Ariza gave us this year, but I'm not delusional enough to think Budinger should start over either Ariza or Battier. If Battier goes in a trade, hopefully Trevor can keep up his post All-Star game production.
I think if we hold onto Ariza we are going to see him blossom into a very good role player. He really started to get that he isn't the man towards the end of the season and it showed when he was injured how important he is to our rotation.
What are you talking about man? Are you being sarcastic? If not, then the only thing it's "proof" of is the fact that some ppl can't be bothered to read posts longer than a sentence. Mathloom offered perfectly logical, sound arguments that having Ariza is better than not having him. I completely agree with him and I think Ariza becomes a better player with more offensive options on the team. He's a young role player with championship experience, a top10 league leader in steals, and a solid spot up shooter.
I don't see the Trevor signing doing any harm this season. It only gives us more options and Trevor a chance to spread his wings and learn Rick's system. Once Martin arrived Trevor settled into his role nicely.
Also, Trevor is barely 24! Even though he's been in the league for 6 seasons, he still has room to grow. Well, it wasn't worded right then. He said quality trumps quantity but Mathloom's post would be considered the quantity since it was longer.
Sorry for my ambiguous wording. I meant quality posters, such as Mathloom himself, trumps those who overwhelm us with quantity, but in the end really say nothing at all. Take that for what you will.
I don't think you can pass judgement on Ariza just yet. He has not played with the 'real team' yet? Artest got a chance to slide right into the Lakers 'real team' this year. We found out this year that Ariza is not ready to be a go-to-guy or a #2 option. I think that is what Morey and Adelman wanted to see in the first half of the year. He looked a lot better in the later half of the season once AB and Martin took those roles. Next year with Yao added back to the mix (and Bosh if that happens) I think Ariza will have a very good sesaon for us.
Leaping to conclusions? One is not related to the other, and the roles they played are not related either, a veritable stretch and not relevent. You do realize he came here to expand his game, right? He said so, Morey said so, and Adelman said so....how did that work out? Do you think he will be satisfied going back to being just a role player (which is all he will ever be, because of his lack of fundamental basketball skill)? Lots of guys have won championships as the 5th option being dragged there by great players like Hakeem, Duncan, Kobe, etc..etc..etc.....does't mean they will be able to play that way with a team that has lessor talent. As I said, if they trade him, that would be great, and I will eat my words, but the way he played last season, other teams are probably going...uh...yeah...we don't need a guy at $7 million a year that has attitude issues, and can't dribble a basketball. Trevor proved that he is not nearly the stopper or player on defense that Battier is......Trevor is like a swining door, can't stay in front of a dead grandma on a crossover. If they trade Trevor then great, but I disagree vehemetly that $7 million a year is a good price for a guy with his abilities. Oh, I don't know...perhaps under the luxury tax for next year? Again, if they trade him, then I will recant, but having him as a starter on a team that runs Adelman's system, is going to be painful......he is just not skilled enough as a basketball player. DD
It's a win-win for both teams. Artest is helping the Lakers in the playoffs. Ariza will be a solid piece for us long-term.
I agree that trevor was a wast but how was ron a cancer? The year he was here, I felt the rockets had the best locker room unity in over a decade. Anyway, Ron by a long shot, not even close
Well, for starters, I'm no longer screaming at the TV when Ariza starts doing weird stuff. He clearly had no problem being the role player behind Brooks, Martin, and to some degree, Scola, and Ariza's not a complete moron, he knew Yao would return. Especially when one considers that he's been a role player for a champ team, and has been seemingly satisfied with being a role player in the aftermath of the trade, I see no reason to be concerned. What significant attitude issues? The only thing I really remember from Trevor the entire year was that elbow in the game against Toronto, and that was at the beginning of the season, and I would argue was the most frustrating game of the season (I explicitly remember that entire game we got decent shots, but nothing could go in.) Nothing wrong with showing emotion at times. And good god, Batman is even worse on the offensive end, as I've never seen him try to dribble the ball. If your response is "Well, that shows how Battier is better because he knows his role", this was a year for Trevor to develop, not Battier. That's why he showed up here, because we offered a far superior venue to get better compared to Cleveland or Toronto. It also shows that we can demand more out of Trevor than we can out of Battier, as clearly the Rockets org didn't have a major problem with Trevor doing what he did, or his minutes would have been cut. For an extremely young player whom is already a good defender and can play within in the system as shown in the second half and will be in his prime at the contract's end, it's a fair deal. ......................................................................... wut. Given that Les has said he's more than willing to go over tax in the name of a championship team, I'm not sure what your whining is about. And that's not getting into the tiny little detail of how the f the luxury tax matters when it comes to things like trying to make that final push for the ring. Are those extra second round picks that we buy due to not being in the luxury tax going to help us more for a title than Ariza?
