http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz0xqKxXK3M
Trevor Ariza arrived in Los Angeles six months after Kobe Bryant asked out. The Lakers had gone three years without winning a playoff series and were starting a season that amounted to an audition. They did not need to win the championship, or even make the NBA Finals for that matter, but they had to show Bryant he would be a fool to leave. Ariza was a bit player on that team, able to observe how a superstar was placated and a potential dynasty created.
"I don't think I had anything to do with it -- that was Pau Gasol -- but one move happens and then another move happens and everything clicked," Ariza said. "That made all of it go away."
Now Ariza is heading to New Orleans, nearly a month after Chris Paul reportedly put together a wish list of other teams for whom he would prefer to play. Once again, Ariza is being sent into a potential crisis, with the hope of quelling it. Ariza alone will not be able to appease Paul -- he may need another Gasol for that -- but he has at least helped defuse him, and in the case of frustrated superstars, that's often the most important step.
Paul's wish list was reported by CBSSports.com on July 22, which happened to be the same day Dell Demps was hired as the Hornets' general manager. As Demps walked through the New Orleans airport, fans were already asking him, "What is going on with Chris? Are you trading him?" Fortunately for the Hornets, Demps' interpersonal skills are much better than his timing, because when he met with Paul four days later, he convinced him the organization was on the upswing.
Demps opened a dialogue with Paul and asked him in early August what he would think about adding Ariza, a 6-foot-8 ball hawk who excels in transition and started for the Lakers in the 2009 playoffs, parlaying his role on that championship run into a five-year contract with Houston, where he was responsible for creating more offense and shot just 39.4 percent. Ariza was dogged by constant comparisons to Ron Artest, who traded places with him in the offseason, and tweaked him relentlessly in the aftermath, once tossing his sneakers into the stands at Staples Center.
"Good luck with that," Paul told Demps, skeptical that the Rockets would give up Ariza so soon into a long-term contract. But Demps had been targeting Ariza since the interview process, looking for someone who could defend elite wings and keep pace with Paul in transition. Ariza checked both boxes.
Demps had one obvious trade chip, backup point guard Darren Collison, but if Demps believed he would eventually lose Paul, it would make no sense to ship a potential successor like Collison. By sending Collison to Indiana in a three-team deal for Ariza, Demps made a play for the present, and for Paul. He can envision Paul's feeding Ariza on the break, and in the half-court, drawing defenders and finding Ariza for open three-pointers.
"Chris is excited because when he's running up and down, now there will be somebody ahead of him," Demps said. "This is not just about Chris helping Trevor. It's also about Trevor helping Chris."
Ariza found out about the move at the Boys & Girls Club -- not in Greenwich, Conn., but San Juan Capistrano, Calif. -- where he was giving a five-day clinic to benefit his asthma foundation. Ariza, who used to need an inhaler at halftime, was mortified to tell the campers he had to cut out early for a news conference in New Orleans. They had been drilling him all week on why he left the Lakers, and now he was leaving the team he left the Lakers for.
"I don't expect you to understand right now," Ariza told the campers, "but later on you will learn that there are things you have to do in the business you choose that are out of your control."
He, as much as any young player, should know. Ariza is 25 and already on his fifth NBA team, having sat the bench in New York and Orlando before developing a three-point stroke in Los Angeles. Ariza had a tendency to kick his legs and twist his body when he shot, so when he broke his foot in 2008, Lakers coaches viewed it as a blessing. Because Ariza could no longer move his feet, he was forced to simplify his motion. But last season in Houston, some of the bad habits returned. Ariza is spending this summer working out in San Diego, trying to regain the rhythm he found in L.A.
If he was ever upset that the Rockets gave up on him after only one year, those frustrations were eased by Paul.
"Since the Hornets have been making some moves, he seems more comfortable with things that are going on," Ariza said. "I don't want to say I'm a part of anybody staying where they're at. The goal is just to get better together."
The Hornets play in the shadow of the Superdome, a constant reminder of how far they remain from a championship. They will likely need another major move to pacify Paul and catapult themselves into the Western Conference race, but then again, the Suns were largely dismissed heading into last season and they rode a premier point guard to the conference finals.
The Hornets are entering their audition period, Paul taking notes, Ariza striving to make this one go as smoothly as the last.
I think Ariza will be a good fit in NO. Houston made the mistake of thinking he can create for himself and be a good player. He needs to be spoonfed and be given open looks,on the Lakers he got that because of Kobe and Pau drawing a lot of attention. He will thrive with Hornets with CP3 giving him lots of easy looks. I expect Career numbers this year from him...
How Ariza ever got that size egg outta his ass in Texas last season is beyond me.
I God's.
Hornets need to make another big trade. I doubt they will be able to acquire another big man unless they found a sucker for Okafor's sorry butt, so they will need to trade Peja's expiring contract for another wing player. I'm hoping Philly will be willing to dump Iggy if they struggle early and Evan Turner develops quickly allowing us to trade Peja's expiring contract for him. This would move Thornton back to the 6th man role and give us two quality wings alongside CP3. I think West will be gone after this season so we're going to have to find a PF who can defend, rebound, and hit an open jumper. A PJ Brown type would be nice.
wait till around Christmas, that's when Paul will want out again. seems as if they have persuaded him to look what this team can do. he will find out soon that it isn't much. Ariza doesn't change this outlook. roster is thin like an anorectic model. and the financial struggles won't allow them to turn Peja into another big contract. (like Iggy)
I think Ariza will be good for the Hornets. I really liked him when he was in LA - even before he went unconscious from 3pt land during the 2009 playoffs. He still has some upside. Houston was foolish for trying to make him like a 1st option. That's not where he is in his development as a player.
Is he going to start over Peja, or is he going to be a 2-guard?
CP
Ariza
Peja
West
Okafor
Not a bad lineup. Trading Collison will hurt though.
CP3
Thornton
Ariza
West
Okafor
Aaron Gray C, Sonalia PF, Peja SF, Bellinelli SG, Shakur PG, Pondexter SF, Brackins PF
Team isn't that bad off financially. It's just going through ownership change. Unfortunately, the oil spill had an effect since Obama put a ban on offshore drilling which affects the new owner's business. Anyway, once the ban is lifted in late November, the team will have new ownership shortly afterwards and have more resources in the long run.
Hornets' chance of making a blockbuster trade is gone.
Their own fault for dealing Darren Collison to save the owner's money.
Ariza will think he is the 2a/b option together with West and gonna chuck like in Houston....
Too bad he is too stupid to know he should be the one doing the dirty work together with Okafor for Paul and West (and even Thornton since Thornton is even a better scorer than Ariza).
overrated as , but his earnin mle...about 2m more a season then bonner...
Anyone that can run, catch, and dunk will be fine playing alongside CP3. Whether the trade was actually worth it though remains to be seen.
However when it comes to CP3 and how he feels about staying with the organization...the new guy will probably be left out of the loop on that .
Me neither. I was vehemently against the trade and basically went at it with many posters on Hornetsreport.
He already knows what's going since he's minority owner. In fact, he interviwed most of the coaching candidates. He probably owns already 40% of the team with Shinn owning 60%.
CP3 is out of New Orleans after this season. GuaranSheed.
The quandary is:::Paul is part of the problem. A significant part.
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