The Rockets don't need another defensive oriented player who can hit an occasional open shot. Isn't that what Artest and Battier do already? We need a player who can help with the offensive load and score close to 20 a game. With the strong likelihood of starting the season without TMac and Yao, we need offense from some one other than Brooks and Scola.
Agreed, I like this move. Gortat reminds me a lot of chuck hayes. Back when Chuck hayes was getting a few minutes a game, people would look at his stats and be like OMG if he played 40 minutes he would be a 10 pt 20 rebound type player... Obviously Hayes is alright, but not worth overpaying, you can't look at a few minutes per game and extrapolate to a whole game
Soooo, why would he sign the MLE for us? Okay so he's not going to sign for the Lakers for less PT and to play behind Artest...but then why won't he sign for Cleveland for their MLE or any other team that is better than us? I think we have to offer more than that honestly, we'll see.
Honestly, I haven't seen much of Gortat in action. Hard for me to say whether I think he can be a double/double machine or not. We definitely need a big man. If/when we finally move TMac, I hope we will get a couple of solid players rather than try and find another superstar.
Ariza is really a good player, but Kobe made him even BETTER. He is great in the open court and as we know we don't usually have a lot of fast break points. Maybe that will change since Yao is out, though.
The problem with all this is that Ron is a much better player than Ariza. Ariza may never be half as good as Ron. So if Ron's signing with LA for the MLE, we've done something wrong. I like Ariza and think he'll continue to get better, but Ron is an absolute steal for the MLE.
Key statement to all of this is Ariza is younger so who is to say he won't become a better defender no one knows.
I think Ariza is a steal at the MLE, even at 4 or 5 years. He's only 24 so its catching him during his prime. He's playoff tested. He's got size at 6'8" and his 3 point shot is improving. He's limited offensively but better than Battier because of his athleticism with aggressive drives to the hoop and runs the floor really well. Basically, he's a top flight wing defender and a 3rd scoring option on a championship team. vs Artest: 29 year old who can no longer defend quick guards and is just a good defender overall because of his power and stamina, good spot up 3 point shooter, can create points with his drives and decent fadeaway jumpshooter but he's past his prime....
I disagree on Ron being better than Ariza. Ron is average at best now defensively. Ariza almost single handedly won that Denver series with his defense, but staying on the conservative side, let's say they are equal. Ariza is much better in transition. Ron is much better at creating his own shot, though that's actually a bad thing in Ron's case. Ron is much bigger and more physical but he doesn't use his size on the offensive end. He uses it well defensively though against the likes of Lebron and Odom. Ariza is a better shooter, but staying on the conservative side, let's say it's a wash. So even if you say that they are overall about equal, on this team, you have to prefer the 24 year old Ariza to the 30 year old Artest.
That's the thing for me! Ariza would be a great addition - but would mean we'd have to move Battier on. They're too similar I guess...
we wont get both, it means overpaying both, and they're not going to like dipping into each other's playing time, and LA won't lose out on both either, they'll match Ariza if we re-sign ron..
Yeah is 3 point shooting is improving but someone has to set him up. He is not the type of player that is going to pull it right in front of a defenders face and score. Its easier to shoot a jumpshot when no one is in your face compared to having someone right there in your face.
I see your point, but i still disagree. Artest has a history (not the violent off the court history, but the on court one ... better stop mentioning "court") to prove his worth as an NBA player. I agree his defense has declined a bit, but offensively I think he's a more well rounded player. Ariza needs to become more consistant offensively for me to give him the knod. I'll give you that he has a better shot from long-range (although his 3pt % doesn't really get me excited). It may be a wash when you take age into account. Look, I hope i'm wrong. I hope Ariza exceeds my expectations. I just think right now, Artest is an all-around better player. It's hard to tell cause Ariza hasn't had the playing time.
There's always a huge injury concern with players of Ariza's build and mindset. Ariza has missed 40% of his games in the last 3 seasons. He's a decent value for the MLE because of his length but I don't want it to turn into a Gerald Wallace situation. This also means Artest is gone and Battier will continue to be dangled around as trade bait.
i think shane may be traded even if ron doesn't resign because we're rebuilding the team now. Doesn't make sense to keep Ariza AND Battier both at 6-7 mil a year, especially now that we're going young, shane looks to be on his way out. It's insane how next year's team will be a stranger to us all..
what makes you think that?? because he is a defensive guy?? If that was the case why didn't Battier leave last year when Artest was traded here. What you said doesn't make sense at all
Maybe he wants a bigger role....in cleveland he wouldn't get a lot of minutes, here, without ron and possibly shane, he should. Especially if guys like budinger and taylor are stuck off the team or the bench.
