Trevor Ariza is supposed to be the Houston Rockets' consolation prize, their symbol of offseason misgivings and all that's gone wrong, their reminder of all that should have been.
If the Rockets had their way over the summer, James Harden would be throwing passes to Chandler Parsons, who would dump it to Dwight Howard, who would find a lurking Chris Bosh somewhere on the perimeter for an uncontested jumper. Ariza's arrival was the offshoot of that image retreating into nothingness.
But instead of representing a summer gone awry, he's quickly proving to be the right fit at the right time for the right team.
Initial Influence
Not only did the Rockets lose Bosh to the Miami Heat but they let their No. 3 (Parsons) and 4 (Jeremy Lin) scorers go via restricted free agency and a trade. They also shipped Omer Asik off to the New Orleans Pelicans. Their offseason, once tracking toward a free-agency coup, devolved into a botched venture that couldn't be remedied anytime soon. Not even signing Ariza, an ideal three-and-D guy, could ease the burden from a ...
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Article written by Dan Favale