A lot of thoughts now that the dust has settled…

• As I said in our round-table, I think Ariza will flourish in New Orleans where, next to Chris Paul, he won’t have to think, his biggest challenge on a basketball court. Back in his old role, he’ll put up the best numbers of his career and at some point, fans will clamor that Morey made a mistake.  But the Rockets will still have come out ahead in the deal…
• With Ariza gone, and Battier back as the starter, the Rockets’ lineup is not as ‘sexy’ as it had been.  As I had been fond of saying, the team had perhaps the most enviable perimeter trio in basketball with the three twenty-somethings together in the lineup.  That psuedo-glamour is now gone, at least until Chase Budinger is handed the torch.
• I think the best way to describe a comparison between Lee and Ariza is the odd statement that while Ariza has the much higher ceiling, Lee is the better player by virtue of the improbability of Ariza reaching that aforementioned ceiling.  In my mind, Lee is the solid contributor who won’t improve much, but like Lowry, will immediately ‘impact winning.’  Ariza, due to his physical gifts, teases the mind and creates hopes of stardom, but in the immediate aggregate, probably is a detriment to total output.  We essentially pulled the plug on ‘the experiment’ to take on the cheaper bird in the hand and I think we’ll be a better team for it.
• Having said that, part of me is disappointed that Ariza is gone.  As I explained in Part 3, I had high hopes regarding what he might bring in a Yao-centric offense.  Having said that, if we had resigned ourselves to the fact that his upside was simply to fill a ‘role’ (as opposed to being a star), and Lee can do that at a cheaper price, doesn’t that essentially make the case in favor of this deal?
• I’m in the middle of an interview with Eddy Rivera from our Orlando Magic TrueHoop affiliate for more insight into Courtney Lee’s abilities.
• Ariza just didn’t fit with the culture of this team.  I never said it during the year because, as I was already so highly critical of his actual play, I feared it would appear that my analysis was clouded by some personal vendetta.  After the trade, I feel much more at ease to speak on the topic.  Trevor just rubbed me the wrong way from the very start, climaxing with the cheap shot on Derozan.  He had an odd sense of entitlement, almost seemingly holding belief in the media’s ordinance of him as Tracy McGrady’s successor and the team’s new leader.  I don’t know how else to describe it – Trevor Ariza was not a Houston Rocket. They’ve never been very good, but, with the apex being the Lakers series, you loved who they were, you felt pride that they were yours because they fought, they had integrity and respected the game, each other, and their coach, and they had a synergistic bond that made them better than they looked.  Trevor Ariza did not fit this.  In that regard, I am glad he is gone.  Good riddance.
• Lee I feel will be like Lowry insofar as displaying the unspectacular but contributing heavily in the net result.  Another small piece not much in and of itself, but perfectly fitting the cast; Mario Elie wasn’t a big name either before he was purchased from the Blazers.
• How much did the emergence of Chase Budinger impact this decision?  While I expect Chase to improve, and am absolutely enamored by his game, I think its wishful thinking to assume this deal was made to clear a logjam and pave the way for Budinger to start.  The trade was made to simply get a better–albeit less ‘gaudy’–player at a cheaper price.
• There is the $6million trade exception which was procured through this manuever but I suspect it will never be used, at least not in its totality as is being assumed (“they can now get a $6million player for free!!”).  For one, such large exceptions are rarely used and almost always allowed to expire.  Secondly, there is the issue of the tax and the reality that unlikely it would be to find a $6million player worth the $12million he would cost.  Third is the market with numerous teams owning similar or larger exceptions.  And lastly, exceptions cannot be combined with actual players in making a deal.  So the deal probably won’t give the team the powers that are being assumed (capability to now acquire a ‘free’ player), but rather, it will give the team indirect flexibility in lessening the overall payload and making Les Alexander probably more likely to approve a deal of Jared Jeffries.  Remember, previously at $81million, its not a given that Alexander would have simply signed off on any deadline deal…this could have been needed.
• While I’m not surprised, this deal is being completely mischaracterized by the broader media.  That one of the positive benefits was the lessening of payload doesn’t mean the primary and sole motivation was as a dump; that’s absurd and painfully simplistic logic.

Update: A reader, Cricketrules509, writes:

Am I the only one who doesn’t consider signing Ariza a mistake? Ariza would be solid for all of his years. This is going to be his prime. He seeemed to be a solid spot up shooter which was exactly what we needed this year. Also, defensively with Yao, he could have been great.

I’m still happy about the Lee trade. 6 million dollar trade exception could be useful.

I agree with the reader.  While I’m happy with the Lee trade, I still don’t think the Ariza signing was a mistake.  It was a reasonable pricetag, and as I had said in the series, he was easily traded for value.  My stance is that just because Lee is far more cost-efficient does not mean that Ariza was overpaid; Lebron James is better than Dwyane Wade but that doesn’t mean Dwyane Wade isn’t great in his own right.