I agree. I was surprised that our team made this move. I was watching this guy in a Magic jersey who was guarding Kobe as best as he could and giving him no respect as if he was just another player. I also saw the same guy who was breaking away and although LeBron is behind him waiting for a chance to block the shot it just did not matter as he slammed the rock in the rim. I'm glad to know that he is with our team now. A tenacious defender and hustle player, that is what I perceive of Courtney Lee. The best of luck for Trevor. I hope he finds some playing time in NO. I feel that this is much more than a salary dump. Maybe Morey's seeing potential in Lee that I have not seen so far. This season will be interesting .
I don't think we'll change each other's minds, but from my POV, Battier's understanding of team play is more valuable than Ariza's athleticism. Having a slasher at the SF spot would have been great, but having a "glue guy" to go with our offensively potent but defensively-challenged backcourt is more important. He's going to make the transition back into a (semi) Yao-centric offense easier. And although I was curious to see how Ariza would complement Yao, I always thought his game was more suited to the open-court, quick transition style of the second unit.
Yes, a guy consistently getting us six points a night or less last season, whose field goal percentage has fallen two percentage points every year for the last 5. I've been a huge Shane fan his entire career, but his production is nowhere near Trevor's at this point.
The Rockets knew they had a replacement ready-to-go, but did YOU? Or did you think we created a hole with 2 diminutive backup PGs and no starter, like you believe we've created a hole now at SF? The lesson is for YOU to stop thinking, and just trust the Rockets brass. Because they have much better thinkers.
So just agree with every move they make? Even when there was a financial incentive involved? I guess we can close the board now, since there's really nothing to argue about anymore.
Of course...he does more than camp at the line and take three's. He gets a few baskets in transition and going to the basket.
No. Just you. I don't think you read that right. Shane shot BETTER than Trevor last year. Let that sink in and marinate a little.
I liked this trade. but it is definitely a lateral move in my opinion. Courtney Lee is a young athletic wing player that is strong defensively and a strong fast break player as well. This move will give us more financial flexibility next offseason because we saved $10 Million this year and $28 Million in the next 4 years. Maybe this move may even trigger a trade that bring a player like Andre Igoudala from the 76ers because we got rid of Ariza's 35 Million dollar contract over the next few years. It also gave Chase Budinger minutes at the small forward position as well as we got a very good backup shooting guard behind Kevin Martin. Ariza's length is what we going to miss. He play the passing lanes as well as anybody in this league. It will remain a mystery how he woulda played with a healthy Yao in the line up this year. YAO MING/Brad Miller/Chuck Hayes LUIS SCOLA/Jordan Hill/Patrick Patterson/Jared Jeffries SHANE BATTIER/Chase Budinger KEVIN MARTIN/Courtney Lee/Jermaine Taylor AARON BROOKS/Kyle Lowry/Ish Smith? The above line ups looks very good to me. Maybe at the trade deadline we can swing a big trade that can land us an impact player. We do have the assets (expiring contracts (Jeffries, Battier, Chuck Hayes), Young players (Chase budinger, Jordan Hill, Patrick Patterson), and ofcourse the draft picks (2nd round pick from Toronto, NY picks, Trade exceptions etc.)
Probably not, I agree with this to an extent, and would have agreed with it even more a few years ago when Shane was able to contribute a little more on the offensive end. At this point, I just think Trevor's offense/defense combination trumps Battier's offense/defense/intangibles. Too many 0-6 point games last season for Shane. His game probably is more suited to that, but 1) Yao might not be here forever and 2) he would still get some time with the second unit.
Well the thing you have to remember is its not really good to have three rotation players on just one position. Battier, Ariza and C-bud all deserve minutes on the court, and last season C-bud didn't get the PT he deserved because he had to beat out two already good players to get his minutes. This trade balances out the roster because you have a starting swingman combo of Battier and KM (extreme D and extreme O), and you have a balanced combo off the bench in Lee and C-bud. In crunchtime, you'll have 3 guys who can score reliably and can't be double teamed. More importantly, this gives you another shooter in case KM gets injured-can't have Ariza and Battier starting again. As far as the trade is concerned, we get three good things apart from just C-Lee: 1. 6.3M Trade Exception-free assets are always good to have 2. Makes Indiana and NJ better in the short run. Although vastly overpaid Troy Murphy can help NJ win a few games, while the Pacers get a good PG essentially for free. This makes both teams better, which in turn means NY will have a tougher time getting a respectable record. 3. Less chance of CP3 leaving for NY mid-season. Now that Collison is gone, NO has essentially gone all-in with Paul. That's one less mid-season target for NY.
No, I read it right. Shane's FG% is better because he is very selective about the shots he takes. He needs a lot of time and space to get them off. Trevor was looked to as a scoring option early in the season, and thus took more wild and difficult shots. I believe his shot selection improved when Martin joined the team and would have improved even more with Yao. Besides I assume you're talking about 3P%, their overall field goal percentage was 39.8% and 39.4%. Trevor shots .4% worse while being looked to as a scoring option. When you look at it that way, Shane's field goal percentage is actually less impressive considering he only shoots in favorable situations. Are you arguing that Shane is a better offensive player at this stage in their careers?
Yeah ok. I get it You have convinced me now . I should just go along with Morey and listen to everything. Wow his powers of making into a mind robot have worked. I am now an official Clutchfan. I needed a good brainwashing like that. No need for thinking anymore for me or personal input. Its all done for me, now.
No he doesn't take higher percentage shots. Since he was actually looking for his shot they were typically more difficult. Shane just lets the shots come to him and only shoots when he is extremely wide open. This is why he barely averaged 8 points per game in 32 minutes and put up a couple 0-point efforts.
We all know how it went when Ariza was trying to be a playmaker on the floor. Ariza's offensive game is at its best when he plays off of a playmaker. Same with Battier.
And what if Battier gets injured...Ariza/Battier or Martin/Budinger? Depends on the matchup I suppose. One of those seems like the worst defensive wing tandem in the league. I liked your second and third points...very perceptive. As for the trade exception...I'm kind of ignoring that, so I can argue the point some people are making about the team being better at this moment. . But yes, the trade exception most likely makes this a net positive in the near future.
That was a reply from me to your value judgment based solely on FG%. My point was not to do that. Besides that I actually agree with pretty much all of the above in your post. But that's besides the point because... it's besides the point. There is no argument over Shane vs. Ariza. And I don't think Shane is a better offensive player either. The argument is whether this is a good trade or not. Shane does not have to be a better player than Ariza for it to be, since we are getting a very capable player in Courtney Lee. Shane just has to be a serviceable. He certainly is that.
