YahooSportsNBA Trevor Ariza is nearing a decision, a source close to the talks tells Y! Sports. Three teams: Houston leads Cleve and a late Portland bid Can anyone else confirm this? Have we not made a official Hedo bid?
Ariza? YahooSportsNBA: Trevor Ariza is nearing a decision, a source close to the talks tells Y! Sports. Three teams: Houston leads Cleve and a late Portland bid
Re: Ariza? with you on that one Hizzy.. especially if we had an attacking PG like Miller and Bayless.
Re: PDX Making a Bid to Ariza? I'm not sure which I'd prefer of Turkoglu and Ariza. I do like Turkoglu's passing ability, but I'd probably lean to Ariza due to his age and the fact that I think he's a little bit better than Turkoglu overall, once defense is factored in. If Ariza is cheaper, that would definitely tip the balance in his favour, for me.
AW is just throwing out rumors after rumors, none of which seem true. I don't really believe him much.
Someone please explain this one to me: Ariza wants more money, so he's looking to change teams--yet the Lakers are ready and willing to sign Ron Artest, who is much better than Ariza, for less money? Do I have that right? If the Lakers are willing to pay Artest what he demands, why can't they pay Ariza what he demands? Are the two figures really that far apart? Or maybe the Lakers just want Artest more than they want Ariza???
I believe they wanted Artest more than Ariza and Ariza is looking for more money than the MLE, which Ron will sign for. A better player for less money, fairly easy decision.
Why? It's smart to have more than one option. Turkoglu has more leverage if he thinks the Blazers are only interested in him. "Courting" Turk while also exploring other options tells Turkoglu that he's their first choice but they are willing to move on to other options. That seems like a good way to handle things.
They'd have to sell this one hard to the casual fans. But I'd be willing to come around to Ariza if we got him for cheaper than Hedo.
Explain to me ONE MORE TIME what Ariza does that Batum can't do (or won't be able to do very soon)? Did he magically develop Scottie Pippen like guard skills? Or is he still an athletic skinny 3 man who can stick the open 3 and play good defense? You know - Batum with much less upside? (Of course, he's still a better fit for LA than Artest is - Artest is the better talent, but won't work as well in LA's system - just as Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond, and yes, even JR Rider were just wasted playing in that system.)
Absolutely, but why is Artest willing to settle for much less than Ariza wants, when Artest is the better player? Seems strange.
Nothing, he's just a good player. It can be useful to have two good players, even if they both do the same things. Turkoglu doesn't bring any skills not already on the roster (his play-making Roy already has), either. Anyway, it does appear the Ariza ship has sailed. I'm not heart-broken, but I wouldn't have minded signing him.
