Ask yourself this. If you put Ariza or TMo on the trade market, who will fetch more in return? A 3&D guy? Or a low-post scorer and defender who also shoots 37% from 3?
I think DMo and Capella are more valuable (as far as assets...) but Ariza is the most valuable on the floor for this squad.... he's our 'glue' guy...
Ask yourself this. If one or the other (Ariza/DMo) is traded or injured...which would have a greater negative impact on our record?
That is a complex question despite its simplicity on first read. What actually is the gap between Ariza-Brewer compared to the gap between D-Mo-Jones? I do not have an opinion on that subject. It is to close for me to call.
Ariza is a much better defender and shooter than Brewer. Brewer is better at running the floor and finishing but that's about it. He fits in excellent of the bench as an energy guy who can hit the occasional three. The drop off would be huge if Brewer is starting. DMo and Jones are really very close in production. Everyone is just down on Jones because of the playoffs. DMo is easily more skilled but there is no consistency.
Age would be a significant contributing factor to the decision so DMo would have more return in a trade.
Hard to tell since Ariza doesn't miss games. DMo has, we still went to the WCF but it's difficult to say if we could have put up a better fight against GSW.
Let's just put it this way. If DMo isn't the clear cut 4th best player by the end of next season he did not make the strides we expect of him. He is EXPECTED to be a more valuable piece to the team than Ariza by the end of next season. He might have been the clear cut 3rd best player on the team in the playoffs if he had a chance. His development curve last season certainly suggested that would have been the case.
At this point I am not sure of Lawson's role next season. Probably none of us are. Is Lawson going to be relegated to a role as a spot up shooter and a catch and drive to the basket guy? I would hope so when Harden is on the floor. While defensively Lawson is not as bad as Lilliard, he is still pitiful by that metric. Fit is incredibly important and we will have to see how it goes. Ariza? We know what he brings to the game and he is good at what he does. D-Mo is incredibly interesting as an NBA player. Is he a 4 or is he a 5? Probably both. Does he make the jump to 40% from beyond the arc next season? I have no idea if he will be ready to play at the start of next season. The NBA is beginning to value flexible players much higher than other players. If a player can guard multiple positions and be an offensive threat from the three point line to the rim they can expect a max contract.
I actually think Lawson is the 4th best player on the team. Ariza is number 3 IMO because of his defense. He is absolutely one of the elite defenders in the game. Add that he is no liability on the offensive end either. I love the Lawson trade but Ariza is my number 3 and Lawson is 4.
I think its pretty safe to say that Lawson is going to be A primary ball handler. I'm guessing he and James will share ball handling duties when on the floor together but I also expect Lawson to be on the floor the vast majority of the time that James is not. He will most certainly be the primary ball handler in those situations.
Dmo's b-ball iq along with post skills will surpass Dwight as 2nd best player on the team by trade deadline. I just hope Dwight can live with it.
Dwight passing and post skills are quite a notch below the other NBA's elite bigs while Dmo is vastly progressing while being better than Dwight. If Dwight doesn't have that athleticism to play above the rim it's over for him. Lets be real here.
Ariza for his 3 and D. The guy plays pretty much all game, and guards the opponents ' good players. He's very important for our team. And he doesn't have an ego to boot.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=266595 Spoiler Not gonna lie, I laughed twice. Well-played. Spoiler
Easily Capela the 3rd best player in this team. Because he will win the most improved player award this coming season.
1. Harden (Top 5 player in the League MVP candidate) 2. Howard (One of the best defensive centers, anchors our defence) 3. Ariza (his defence is elite and 3-and-D skills are key for this team's success) 4. Dmo (If he recovers well from back injury- post game great, defence and rebounding improving) 5. Lawson (Lets see how he fits, if he recovers from his off-court issues, if he makes the players around him better) - then he moves to 3
