Because he's not going to stay. Les needs to start calling his Chinese connections and get Morey to tell Lebron's agent how much $$$ he can make playing alongside Yao Ming.
damn, if lebron wants ariza that bad, why doesnt he just come to houston for 2010 and play with ariza, brooks and yao.
LeBron maybe just remembers this: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wozfvEtSyVc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wozfvEtSyVc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Featuring Ariza on offense is nonsense. If that happens, it means the Rockets have a terrible offense. A lot of people here are going to be REALLY disappointed when they figure out what Ariza did in the playoffs won't happen again. That was his Carlos Beltran moment.
It's not a pledge to alter our gameplan more than it is a statement of fact for how much we will NEED him to score relative to what role he would be taking on in other teams. Yeah we won't be as good, and yeah there are going to be some significant growing pains along the way, but the Rockets represent the best opportunity for Ariza to reach his full potential by inserting himself as another piece into Adelman's offense. A longer, younger, and more athletic piece at wing than we've had since a healthy T-Mac (which must have been, what, 2007?). The negatives will come in spot-up shooting and the ability to take initiative and run the offense, but thankfully Adelman's system offsets this deficiency well. We will take what the defense gives us, and Ariza will share the scoring load with Brooks, Scola, Landry, Battier, and whoever our back-up shooting guard ends up being (Taylor?). Look for each of these guys to have career offensive years in both numbers and efficiencies due to this near-even distribution of shot opportunities. And on defense if we can get a stopgap shotblocker we will be even better than we were last year. Younger, longer, more athletic, at the price of the MLE. Who can hate this move?
I like the Ariza signing, but he doesn't have much skill on offense. Pretty all he can do is spot up shoot and drive to the basket when a lane is open. It's hard to feature that kind of player in any sense of the word. They can't do it all this summer, but the Rockets need to add another player besides AB who can create. Otherwise, teams can just crowd them and the offense will break down.
This is why the Rockets should make their moves now and not wait till 2010 Summer of FA. All of the prize FA will end up staying with their teams anyways. The Rockets can not put too much stock in landing a star FA. I hope Morey makes the moves that will help the team starting this season.
I have been saying all along that LeBron would stay in Cleveland, but what he said to Ariza does not mean anything at all. He simply told him that because he was trying to recruit him to be with Cleveland. This should not make Cleveland fans feel anymore confident than before the statement.
I take absolutely zero from this. Especially if this team gets slapped around this year. Every contender has beefed up significantly, and they've done little to advance. I also think the Shaq trade is going to work out for them just about as well as it did for Phoenix. He's not staying. New York City. MSG or Brooklyn.
Chris Broussard just reported on ESPN that sources close to Lebron said thats a lie. They said Lebron never promised anyone he was staying in Cleveland next season hmmmmmmmmm
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4311048 Sources: LeBron denies Ariza's story LeBron James did not tell Trevor Ariza he would stay in Cleveland past 2010, according to sources close to the Cavaliers' superstar -- contradicting what a person close to Ariza said Monday night. That source said that James told Ariza he planned to remain with the Cavaliers past next summer, when he can become a free agent. James could not be reached for comment Monday night, but on Tuesday, sources who spoke to James said the story told by the person close to Ariza was wrong. James' conversation with Ariza was, according to the Ariza source, part of the Cavaliers' attempt to make Ariza the next Hedo Turkoglu, who backed out of his promise last week to join Portland and instead accepted a deal with Toronto. Over the weekend, general manager Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown flew to Los Angeles and met with Ariza on Sunday, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation. Ariza, who had accepted a five-year, $33.5 million offer from the Rockets last Thursday, also received telephone calls from James and Shaquille O'Neal. Ariza asked James about his future plans with the Cavs, and then told a person close to him James said he was staying in Cleveland long-term. "Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," the source said. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.' " Ariza still had his doubts. "He thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source said. "Until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much." The Cavaliers did not ask James or O'Neal to call Ariza, but as he did with Ron Artest, James took it upon himself to reach out. James' future in Cleveland has been an issue with potential signees. Artest, whom the Cavaliers had interest in before he agreed to terms with the Lakers, was concerned about signing a multiyear deal with Cleveland because of James' ability to leave in 2010. And even O'Neal, who was traded to the Cavs less than two weeks ago, tried to find out about James' long-term plans with the club during trade talks. Even so, according to sources, a flattered Ariza strongly considered reneging on his agreement with the Rockets and heading for Cleveland, which made him the same offer as Houston last week. In the end, however, he decided to keep his word to the Rockets. "He's a very loyal person," the source said. "[Rockets coach] Rick Adelman had lunch with him for three straight days last week and that meant a lot to him." Ariza presumably will sign with the Rockets on Wednesday, the first day free agents are allowed to sign contracts. But until then, other teams can recruit him, and he can change his mind. Though Ferry and Brown left Los Angeles on Sunday night thinking their mission had failed, the Cavaliers spoke with Ariza's representatives one last time Monday afternoon, only to be told that he still planned to be a Rocket. Sources say several factors led to Ariza's decision. First, his toddler son lives in Los Angeles with his mother and Ariza liked that Houston was a much shorter flight to L.A. than Cleveland. Second, Adelman promised him the Rockets would feature him offensively while the Cavaliers refused to guarantee him a starting job. Instead, the Cavs told him he'd be given a legitimate chance to compete for the spot against last year's starter, Delonte West. "He wanted to be sure he'd start," the source said. "That was a big hang-up." While an about-face is still possible, the Cavaliers, who met with Channing Frye in Cleveland on Monday, aren't holding their breath. "As far as we're concerned, he's going to Houston," a team executive said. "We've moved on." The Cavaliers, of course, are hoping James doesn't do the same thing a year from now.
