<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A change in the NBA's new collective-bargaining agreement will solidify a long Knick future for acrobatic swingman Trevor Ariza. It's unofficially called the Gilbert Arenas Rule, and prevents capped-out teams such as the Knicks from losing a gifted second-rounder through free agency. The rule came about after Golden State could not re-sign Arenas, Cleveland could not re-sign Carlos Boozer and Detroit could not re-sign Mehmet Okur. As a rookie, Ariza was one of the bright lights of last season's dark campaign with his high-flying dunks and putbacks, and will compete today for the Knicks in the Las Vegas summer league after gaining 10 pounds of muscle the past two months. Ariza, selected at No. 43 in 2004, will become a free agent next summer and the Knicks don't have his "Bird Rights." "This allows a team to keep a player it had smartly drafted in the second round," union attorney Ron Klempner said. </div> Source
What a relief! Ariza is a real hard working player (as evident in his 10 pounds of added muscle in two months) and is very talented. I honestly believe if he stayed at UCLA for another year or two, he could be in the lottery. I have this feeling that he will explode next season.
Thank goodness. I knew we'd be able to keep him here for a while, just a matter of how. *sigh of relief* Ariza's jumpshot is getting better and better. He's looking great. This is very exciting.
