eyeteeth wrote:cpfsf wrote:I considered the same Ariza-Martin pairing too. It’s actually pretty easy to be pleased with this duo considering it destroys the Johnson-Webster alternative. I would never by the way trade Williams in either scenario, but I think it's likely that both teams will expect either the Utah or Memphis pick.
Minnesota would have a decent edge re-signing Martin because Adelman maximized his talents while offering a consistent role. In Houston his name always managed to pop up in trade rumors, and now we see his role is diminishing. To me this just seems like a small risk for a player who has just one year remaining on his contract. There are certainly cheaper shooting guards that I would like to consider first, but it’s pretty appealing because he is one of Adelman’s guys.
Now Ariza would really benefit from playing with this more respectable lineup, so he wouldn’t be expected to have such a heavy load on the offensive end. We just need to be sure that we surround him with another offensively gifted guard. Here's a nice little tidbit, an Ariza trade would mean that he played for 6 teams in 9 seasons.
Ariza seems very much the underwhelming but repectable professional. I would consider him a near worst case scenario and someone worth only a very minimal asset in return. That said, he could comport himself with dignity under Adelman, who knows? Sometimes journeyman players work really well for coaches that can be really specific about what they want from their players. In any case, despite his certainly lackluster skill set, he would still undeniably be an upgrade from the almost-rans we've had playing SF.
If there is something to be said for a Martin/Ariza fix at the wings, it's that it should, on the merits, allow us to hold on to DW. That's a move that might end up having some big upside for us down the road.
Underwelming? You have to pay extra for the flashy guys like Iguodala.
