Hooped Up

Trevor Ariza sure looks like he has a bounce in his step after the All-Star break. This was a monster dunk all up in the grill of Mehmet Okur.

In case you missed it, Trevor Ariza decided to go circus bear on DeMar DeRozan towards the end of the 3rd quarter of the Rockets vs. Raptors game. Ariza attempting to elbow the rookie in the back of the head out of frustration from his 0-9 from the field performance.

Ironically enough, Ariza even missed DeRozan with his attempted swing, it was just that kinda night.  Fines are sure to be brewing, but for now he’ll probably just be suspended for Tuesday game against the Pistons.

Watch the madness after the jump.

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The Houston Rockets gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a big 85-95 Texas welcome in the Toyota Center and in addition to dropping 26 points on the Cavs. New guy Trevor Ariza had this sweet reverse traffic jam on the Big Z, who wishes he could Ctrl + Z the poster he’ll appear in.

Check it out in slow mo, after the jump.

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I’ve been calling Chris Kaman, Chris “Kaveman” since his days at Central Michigan University, you figure out the reason why. On this play Trevor Ariza goes plastic man for the jam and that was probably the most impressive thing since the first wheel or Tyrannosaurus Rex that Kaman has seen up close.

via HoopsVine

Ron Artest on throwing Trevor Ariza’s shoe in the stands:

“Well what happened was…obviously I didn’t know his shoe would come off that’s the first thing conservative reporters. I didn’t know his shoe was gonna come off. I don’t speak to his feet so I don’t know what his feet are thinking, I don’t know what his toes are thinking, I don’t know what he’s thinking. Then his shoe comes off and I’m like okay a shoe is not supposed to be on the basketball court without somebody standing inside of it. So I said alright, I’m just gonna buy me some time. I really didn’t know whose shoe it was, but I said it has to be one of the player’s shoe. As soon as I toss it off the court, not throw into the stands which some people said, it’ll buy me some time. What happens is I come back down, Trevor is trying to put his shoe on and I politely hit a three in his face.”

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Another van glorious season of NBA basketball is about to begin and Hooped Up does a quick and dirty preview of all 30 clubs.

Before Yao Ming went down in the playoffs last year, things were looking great in Houston. Now, Ron Artest is playing for the Lakers, Von Wafer is playing in Europe, and Tracy McGrady will miss at least another month. Sure they got back Trevor Ariza to help fill some to the defensive hole Artest left behind, but without Yao Ming. Things don’t look promising this year in Houston. Read More »

The same day the Rockets lost Ron Artest to the Lakers, they found his replacement from the Lakers in Trevor Ariza.

“Ariza accepted the Rockets’ offer of a five-year, mid-level exception deal late Thursday, expected to be worth roughly $33 million, an individual with knowledge of the deal said. Players may sign free agent contracts beginning July 8.

The Lakers on Wednesday offered Ariza, 24, a contract similar to the mid-level exception he accepted from the Rockets, but well short of the deal he reportedly was seeking. Ariza, a 6-8 forward, averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, his fifth season after one season at UCLA.”

How Trevor Ariza is worth as much as Ron Artest I’ll never understand, but if young Ariza can have a break out season with a guaranteed increase of minutes in Houston. This could be a good gamble for a team that just needs a break.

Via Houston Chronicle

Everybody else wants to pay Trevor Ariza more money than he’s worth, except for his current team the LA Lakers.

The Lakers remained far apart on negotiations Wednesday with their two main free-agent pieces, forwards Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. In particular, Ariza and his agent weren’t thrilled by the Lakers’ annual offer of $5.6 million over an unspecified number of years. Ariza, 24, was hoping for $7 million to $8 million a year. Odom, 29, is believed to be seeking $10 million a year, though it was unclear what the Lakers offered him. Ariza is drawing interest from Portland, Houston, Cleveland, Toronto and the Clippers. Of those teams, only Portland and Toronto have enough salary-cap room to offer more than the Lakers’ current offer.

Ariza was huge for the Lakers this season after Odom was injured and he had a great playoff run too. That being said, he is nowhere near worth $8 million a year and the Lakers would be better off letting somebody else over pay Ariza for services.

Call me crazy.

Via Los Angeles Times

This ain’t Wal-Mart! That’s what Trevor Ariza and his agent David Lee are saying about negotiating a re-signing with the Lakers when Ariza officially becomes a free agent tonight, because they will not give Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak a discount.

While Ariza has maintained that he hopes to wear purple and gold again next season, agent David Lee said Monday that the Lakers won’t receive any hometown discount from his client. Lee declined to reveal how much of a raise Ariza will seek when he becomes an unrestricted free agent Tuesday night at 9:01 p.m., but he said the young forward’s upside should make him the most coveted wing player on the market.

Among the teams Lee expects to pursue Ariza: Detroit, Portland and Toronto, franchises with enough cap space to more than double Ariza’s $3.1 million salary of last season.

Ultimately Ariza might  be too expensive for the Lakers because he’s got the free agent perfect storm going to get paid a lot of planetary credits. He’s young (24 years old), just won a championship, plays solid defence and GM’s see a lot potential in him.

If Scott Layden or Isiah Thomas were GM’s right now, they would offer Trevor Ariza a billion dollars and the Elephant Man’s bones to begin negotiations. But despite Zeke and Layden not having NBA GM jobs right now, Ariza is going to get paid large!

Via Press-Enterprise

It was believed only one of them would stay, until the Lakers high-stepped through the last two weeks of the playoffs with relative ease, winning the last two games of the Western Conference finals against a physical, feisty Denver team before disposing of Orlando. The recent sentiment is that there might be room for both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson even said as much last week, saying it wasn’t “written in stone” that the team would have to make an either/or decision with the two players. Basically, it comes down to owner Jerry Buss, who has stepped up financially numerous times over the years, most recently by signing Andrew Bynum to a four-year, $57.4-million contract extension last October and, before that, absorbing an extra $49 million in salary by acquiring Pau Gasol in February 2008.

Los Angeles Times