Trevor Ariza has some ‘splainin to do.
He was pretty much a good player last year with the Wizards. That year was also the last year of his contract, so the entire season was an audition for other teams, with the goal being to get paid lots of money. I’m not saying that he purposely played with more energy and focus in order to score a big payday but…actually, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Trevor Ariza balled out of his mind for a whole season so some schmuck GM would get caught up in the “3 and D” hype. And it worked. Now Ariza can shoot under 40%, and, short of waiving him, there is nothing the Rockets can do about it. Maybe you could trade him for Drew Gooden or something.
Isn’t Morey supposed to be some kind of asset-management genius? Hah. Paying eight million per year for the privilege of Trevor Ariza in his 30’s screwing up your team isn’t genius. The only saving grace is that once the salary cap explodes, Ariza’s deal will just be “average value” instead of “poor value”.
Also, is Trevor Ariza Mexican? Don’t lie.