IMO Ariza is a very good but overpaid role player. He is better than Lee, as his size and length is a greater advantage. But the difference between the two players is not that great, and so it was worth a slight downgrade to get rid of Ariza's contract. Morey got a good player in Lee and was able to shed a large contract. Now that financial flexibility needs to be used to bring in another upgrade for the trade to be a win for the Rockets and worth losing Ariza for.
I give credit where its due and when their moves pay off and I criticize the FO when they deserve it.
I'm not mad the Rockets traded him. He was overpaid for the role he'd play here. He's a fantastic 4th/5th option that plays defense. A great addition for a contender. We aren't nor going to contenders anytime soon so Morey made the right move. Save money and grab an asset. I Just hate the HATERS that say he's useless, when in fact he's a great role player. Just admit he's good at what he does and stop saying he sucks. 5-0 proves it.
with the same contribution from lee, if we were 4-0, what would you think about the trade then? its not that people are hating on Ariza himself, but at the idea that he's playing great, as the OP implied. Hitting a clutch 3 doesn't exactly back that up. It was a great shot, but still a shot and people are bringing it up as if that one play proved it was a bad deal or proved hes been playing great.
If the Rockets go 0-82 and Ariza becomes the MVP I would still be glad they traded him. He is on my all-glad-their-gone list along with Rafer, all the ole Knicks JVG brought in, and TMac, Steve Francis among others.
So you are pretty much admitting that you are a hater and thus your opinion on this matter is irrelevant.
And if they didn't make the trade and we were still 0-4 right now, you'd probably question why they didn't do it...
I remember early in the season Ariza scored 30+ points and everyone was raving he is the missing piece offensive player that we need. I like Ariza when he is the role player when we traded for Martin. I thought we get Martin in order that Ariza will go back to what his role really is and its the end of the road for Battier as we know Bud is for the future. Quite shocked when Ariza got traded but the management values Lee highly, and we won't get Lee by offering Battier I presume
Ariza is playing well with New Orleans, but that may have a little something to do with the fact he's now playing alongside quite possibly the best point guard in the league. If he were still on the Rockets, he would not be. He is exactly the kind of player that a great point guard can make better.
You're right, this is SILLY. To suggest Ariza is the reason the Hornets are 5-0 and the lack of Ariza is why we are 0-4 is what is silly. And it is constantly thrown around as fact. Ariza is the same player as he was last year...an okay defender and a terribly ineffecient offensive one. 4th options don't take 15 shots a game. Unrealistic expectations?! Are you serious??? The only expectation I ever had of Ariza was smart basketball. Thats all I ask for. That is not an unrealistic expectation. NEWSFLASH: When you can't score, dont take 15 shots a game. Don't care what he has or has not said, because (for me) its not about that. Its about what other people say about him on this forum and how blatantly INCORRECT it is. I mean seriously, look at the post directly above mine. The dude is shooting 38% and someone actually thinks he is "playing well" He is not 5-0, the Hornets are 5-0.
But the Rockets are not 4-0. Ariza still made two big plays to close the game, something he has made a habit of.
its not that the thing is that way too many people here equate shooting the ball well to be the only barometer to judge if someone is player great or not. Ariza never has been an excellent shooter throughout his career so you can always expect him to probably shoot around 40% from the field. But you can also expect him to play great d, get some steals, rebounds and assists along the way at an above average rate along the way. I know scoring is probably the most important aspect of basketball but its often the most overrated Ariza always has to guard the other teams best perimeter scorer Lebron: 6-16 from the field Martin- 5-12 Manu G 8-19 Melo 10-17 Salmons 2-8 Outside of Melo - who happens to be arguably the best pure scorer in the game - he has done an admirable job defending the other teams primary wing scorer To me it seems like Ariza is playing pretty well for the Hornets right now
I liked Ariza too despite his flaws. I thought he was blamed unfairly for the team's problems by the fans last year. But while I think I understand the Morey's reasons for the trade, I can't really say it was the right move just yet. Not until some of these "assets" he's stockpiled result in a major upgrade sometime down the road.
Here are the facts. 1. Shane is 31 making 9 million with his intangibles. 2. Ariza is making 6 million @ age 26 3. C. Lee plays 15 minutes a game @ SG NO last year didn't look this good defensively. CP3+West+Oakfor was still there. Insert a player who plays pretty decent D, makes the whole team better, especially when player Accepts his role player mode. No matter what anybody says, it's better to be 5-0, than 0-4. If you don't want to give credit to Ariza to help round the team out, at least recognize he is doing what NO is asking him to do. (committing to defense) which is something we can't do.
Yep. On its own the trade didn't make basketball sense to me, so it must've been about financial and/or personality reasons. If by the end of the year Morey's traded for a stud 3, all is forgiven of course. Until then Battier/Budinger has gotta be in the bottom 5 SF combos.
When you have Battier as a wingman you will look like (nice word). Look at Martin right now,then look at our standing,then look at me, then look at your posts.
