Indifferent. I think it's a slight downgrade to the overall roster trading a starter for a backup, but Lee might be a better trade asset due to contract. Whether he'll actually be used in a trade is another matter.
This thread is kind of funny to me. There was so much Ariza hate going around last season, but now that he's traded everyone's upset about it. This is a good trade. It saves us money and Lee is no scrub. We got a competant shooting guard, and now we can give Bud more minutes at SF. Well done Morey, as always.
Well I don't really understand it. You give a guy 5 year deal and you trade him after his 1st year? And I am not really sure that Lee would be better. We'll see. The good thing: MORE CHASE!
My guess is Ariza's minutes will largely go to Chase, with some going to Lee. I'm thinking Battier will stay the same as last year - there's more availability, but he's another year past his prime. Season Averages Ariza last year (36 mpg): 15 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.75 spg Battier last year (32 mpg): 8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.8 spg Chase last year (20 mpg): 9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.5 spg Total: 32-13.3-3.0 But that is a little misleading, since Martin had a big impact on the rotation (Ariza and Battier no longer starting together minutes) March last year Ariza (33 mpg): 12 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2 spg Battier (28 mpg): 6 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 spg Chase (18 mpg): 8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0 spg Total: 26-13.5-4.0 Lee (20 mpg, projected): 8 ppg, 2 rpg, 0.8 spg Battier (25 mpg, projected): 6 ppg, 5 rpg, 0.7 spg Chase (25 mpg, projected): 11 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.7 spg Total: 25-10.5-2.2 ...so not a massive loss, especially if Yao, Miller, Patterson, and Hill help make up the dip in the boardwork. Another nicety is switching out Ariza's notorious 32% 3-point shooting with Lee's career 37%.
Why did the team get much worse? At worst, this is a slight downgrade. I'm not sure Lee is worse. He is a very good defender and a bit more efficient on offense.
Downgrade on defense. downgrade on height and length. similar 3p% numbers. might mean the end to seeing Brooks and Lowry on the floor at the same time which sucks. Saved Les 10 million dollars.
WTF? it's a done deal and $$ aside, has this team gotten better? I dont' think so...of course, i'm not saying Trevor was the best, but he was the best option given the talent out there...
It's hard for me to like this deal right now. I really thought Ariza would fit in and complement Yao this year. Last year he was clearly playing out a role that he did not fit as a primary scoring option, prior to the Martin deal, but with Martin his efficiency went up considerably, and odds are it would have continued to do so with Yao in the line up. Lee is not a bad player, and perhaps he will grow on me with time. But my initial thought is that Collison was the best player who was traded, followed by Ariza and then Lee. I would have preferred giving up Battier just due to age instead. While there is merit in saying that Morey hasn't made any major mistakes yet, if Ariza who was a Morey signing becomes a salary dump after one season, then either the initial signing of Ariza or this trade was a mistake. Unless you are of the opinion that Lee is an upgrade over Ariza, which as of right now I am not.
Trevor Ariza could have been assassinated and it would not have made the team "much worse." Ariza is a competent role player and that's it. He obviously wasn't much on the offensive end, and aside from a good game against Kobe in LA that I'm sure he was extra-hyped up for, I don't recall him shutting anybody down last year. As it is, we freed up minutes for Budinger, whom the team clearly believes is the future at the 3, and filled a hole at the backup 2 (yes, Taylor was a hole). That's in addition to saving $28 million over the next few years and ensuring that trading for a long-term max player does not lock the Rockets into paying well over the luxury tax for the next 3-6 years.
Lee fits into what the Rockets are trying to do. He is more efficient and a much better FT shooter. This gives us more flexibility. Let's go get Granger!!
Save money + improve the bench while maintaining the same productivity in the starting lineup? I can't see anything wrong with that. It does somewhat hurt our perimeter defense that could be extremely valuable against Miami... but I can live with that.
There's no way in hell we're getting Granger now. But I do think getting Iggy is a STRONG possibility.
We still have Shane to guard Kobe when we play the Lakers and he will also be holding Lebron when we play the Heat. I don't think we could have had Ariza and Battier on the court at the same time for any significant amount of time against the Heat because we would be sacrificing way too much offensive against a team that is likely to be one of the best scoring teams in the league.
