If his body doesn't decline sharply, he's the SF we've been looking for since ... Scottie Pippen? I don't count Batum, because he disappeared too often. Am I forgetting someone else in between?
they had Gerald Wallace...but he was converted into Lillard which by the way might have been the best trade ever for Portland....by Chad Buchanan
I agree that we should pick up his option for next season when the time comes. He can start and give Little more time to develop into our starting 3 of the future.
The Blazers have looked like a completely different team since trading Bazemore and Tolliver for Ariza and Biggie. Their entire vibe is different. So is there poise, effort, energy and passing. Coincidence?
Ariza is a tough dude, takes shit from nobody, and that's what this team needs. He has mixed it up with a ton of different players. I for one like it. Keep him
Did you see in tonight's game Ariza was retrieving the ball by the stanchion, dude was crowding him, so Ariza pushed him and sneered "get out of my way!" That was full on I take no shit from nobody.
Solid nomination, but sort of a tough piece to fit into a variety of looks, which to me is one of the true tests of a SF: versatility. Shooting, slashing, defense, pretty much gotta do it all. Crash wasn't quite the complimentary piece that Ariza has been for most of his career, especially the latter years. Probably higher impact at his best, though.
I just saw the Kings boxscore. I don't like to use a single-game +/-, but anyone see Baze's? He was -21 in 18 minutes!!! Almost everyone else was single digits. It was a good trade!
it matches the eye test. He just isn’t a very good player, specifically on the offensive end. Awful shot selection mixed with minimal skill. Hes a pretty good help defender, average on ball, who can knock down set shots. A fringe rotation player on a good team.
I think the thought stems from the ability to cut ~11M in next year's non-guaranteed salary. Multiple outlets have posited that a) the Blazers will waive him before 30 June, so that they only pay 1.8M next year instead of 12.8M, or b) they will trade him post-playoffs and pre-30 June to someone who will likely waive him and take the savings themselves. I think the OP was saying there's a c) here, which may be "keep him and pencil him in as starting SF."
