https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29734146/afar-watching-lakers-blazers-trevor-ariza He tried coming back, was told no.
"Man, the word 'hard' doesn't even begin to describe it," Ariza told ESPN. "This is what I was born to do, to play basketball. I've been doing it my whole life. And to know my team has a chance to compete for a championship, and I'm not with them. ... It burns me up inside." And yet, he insisted, the time with his son was worth it. Tajh is 12 years old, named after Trevor Ariza's baby brother, who, in 1996, when he was just 6 years old, plunged 30 floors to his death outside a hotel room window in Caracas, Venezuela, while under the care of a babysitter. Trevor and his mother were at a gymnasium watching his stepfather compete in a basketball game." Damn.
Thank you Captain Obvious. Still, they weren't there, and then they were. Family, not a good excuse. Strip clubs, just fine.
Let me say it again. None of them opted out. So why the fuck would you compare their situations to Arizas? btw the league allowed Portland to replace Ariza. They did. It wasn’t someone that helped, but that was Olsheys fault. Why should the league allow Ariza back in?
Exactly. This wasn't about his kid; lots of players have kids they care about. He had options other than opting out.
Yeah why would you be punished for opting out? Bullshit. I mean seems to run counter to what the league is trying to do.
Stop with this bullshit - who WOULD have helped that was available? There's literally no answer here.
"CJ McCollum have kept him apprised of locker room antics and stories in the bubble. He has offered pearls of wisdom to young big man Wenyen Gabriel, who Ariza predicts has a long, fruitful NBA career ahead of him. It's strange, he conceded, to be watching his "brothers" on television." Agreed!
The Lance Thomas who had 0 points, 1 rebound, and was -11 against Portland in the bubble? Who averaged 3.4 points on 34.8% shooting in the bubble? Game changer certainly. Trey Burke. A 6'-0" guard. What would we he have brought to the table against the Lakers?
Who’s Portland’s backup point guard again? And Thomas’ value is his defense. Certainly would’ve been a better body to throw at Lebron than...Anfernee Simons, but maybe that’s just me.
A backup point would not be fixing the problem(s) the Blazers are showing in this series. What would've helped was to have Trevor Ariza. He was a nice find by Olshey in the middle of the season. Too bad he didn't forsee an international pandemic, and Ariza's child custody issues keeping him from joining a quarantined bubble in August. Collins would be helpful too. Stupid Olshey fracturing his ankle like that really screwed up. I'm all for criticizing some of this roster makeup, but let's at least be fair about it. There was nothing to be done in July to fix this.