I completely agree, I think Von will fill the black void of Ariza's shooting with much needed swishes. Hurry back Von!
And that is where we disagree. The root of our argument. You believe Ariza will always struggle for his possible 5 year tenure as a Rocket. I, while I agree Ariza isn't playing well this season, am willing to give him a pass because I know he is coming to a foreign place, asked to participate in ways he never has, and is experiencing life without stardom surrounding him. So yes, Ariza will probably have attitude. That's who he is. And yes, Ariza is playing poorly. And no, he does not have Battier's clean-cut character. But we are 36 games into his first season as a Houston Rocket. Either you come to terms that his early struggles are merely temporary (my perspective) or you can drive yourself mad with every poor game he plays for the rest of his career (which I believe won't be many after this season).
I sincerely believe that signing Von would be better than what we would get trading Tmac away for. Give Von a 2 year minimum contract. If he can behave himself for that time period, he will have earned himself a MLE deal. Otherwise, we can cut him for no cap penalty. No other team in the NBA can give Von the playing oppurtunity that this team can. Hopefully he can come here and embrace that role. Its make it or break it time for him and his career.
Von to the rescue, Hope he comes in and eat half of Ariza's minutes and save that poor dude who doesn't even know how to respect his teammates.
What kind of improvement have you seen from him since the beginning of the season? If you think this is just a temporary issue (his poor play) then shouldn't he be getting better/smarter instead of worse/dumber? That IS where we disagree. I see a guy who lacks the skill set, basketball IQ and maybe even the physical gifts to do any of the things he thinks he can do. This isn't about Rick asking him to do more than he can, this is about Trevor demanding the ball and then doing stupid things with it and then getting mad at everyone on his team over it. That type of stuff isn't temporary. Certainly not for a guy in his 6th season.
seems the wrong thread to discuss Ariza, but seeing as it has been brought up I would give Ariza this season to adjust and see how he goes next season. Not sure what you all want from this season but I dont see a championship in this years goals. Let the guys grow, gel and learn this year so that next season the championship is a goal, and attainable at that. Von, however may bring instant offense, but his defense lacks. I dont mind either way if he passes or fails. I'm just down for the ride, IM DOWN!
Not a bad idea at all, a very small 2 year deal would make him a restricted free agent at the end of the 3rd year, just like Scola......it would be a smart move by Morey to lock him up for cheap.....around the LLE level. DD
He hasn't necessarily improved this season. But I do have confidence in his ability to play off a all-star caliber player, whether it be Yao, Iggy to a lesser extent, or anyone else we trade for.
I wouldn't be surprised if Morey signed Von to this type of deal based on his defense alone!!! Seriously, he showed me enough last season that he has earned a short, cheap deal. If 10ppg in 20 minutes on 45% shooting isn't worth a deal in this league I don't know what is.
I made this same exact post at "Texanstalk.com" (sorry I'm a football fan first) when it became apparent Wafer wasn't coming back. This team has NO SG........NO SG TO SPEAK OF. Houston needed Wafer just as much as Wafer need them. Hopefully these two sides can come together and get something signed. All I ever heard was how it takes a couple of years for a player to learn and perform in Adelman's offense, but Wafer did it from day one and it seems like he hasn't been able to play at that level in any other offense. So that makes him somewhat of a "system player", but it's this system. If he's the next "Bobby Jackson" I'll take that in spades. Houston needs to get him back pronto, because they are flat bleeding out at that position. People also don't give this kid enough credit for the success Houston had last season......Last season he was our "6th man". Hopefully we can get him back and he can provide the same production.
