Read Bleacher Fan’s argument that the worst NBA free agency move was the Cleveland Cavaliers re-signing Anderson Varejao and Loyal Homer’s argument that the Orlando Magic matching Marcin Gortat’s offer sheet is.
It’s silly season in the NBA – that part of the off-season where teams jockey for position trying to sign the best free agent available, the one player a team was missing that could mean the difference between finishing ninth and eighth in the regular season, or the season ending in the Conference Finals or the NBA Finals.
For me, NBA free agency is not about making a splash with a big name player, it is about finding the right missing piece to put a team over the top. Finding the right player can mean re-signing a valuable player, correctly passing on a tantalizing opportunity, or finding a player who is that diamond in the rough who no longer fits into his former team’s strategy, but is perfect for another team. Those are examples of how free agency is supposed to work. But, sometimes teams sign players that are not a good fit.
This off-season, the single worst free agent move belongs to the Houston Rockets for signing free agent forward Trevor Ariza.
Skeptical? Consider three reasons.
First, the Rockets chose to use the money from an injury exception (about the same as the mid-level exception, $5.7M) for Yao Ming – who will miss the entirety of next season with a fractured foot – to sign a forward. Yao’s injury leaves a very weak center position on the roster. The Rockets have the following players under contract who could play center next season: 6-8 Joey Dorsey, 6-9 Luis Scola. Despite the lack of great center’s out there in free agency, the Rockets needed to explore a way to fill that gaping hole in their roster. Even though they lost forward Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, the more glaring need to fill on the Rockets is the center position given that a great deal of the current roster and offensive approach is designed around that position.
Second, and even more exasperating for Rockets fans, Ariza was signed very quickly in the free agency period. The quick signing is bewildering because many other players were available at the forward position that could help fill the role Artest filled. Rather than waiting out the off-season a bit, the Rockets made an aggressive offer (five years $33.5M) to a player with questionable NBA experience. Ariza is being paid as a big time player who can be the focus of an offense, not as the type of player he is – a journeyman with complementary skills… which brings us to reason number three.
Trevor Ariza is overrated. Granted, he played wonderfully in the 2009 NBA Finals (you’d think the Orlando Magic would have learned to look for him on in-bound plays after his second steal and dunk), scoring 11 points a game, grabbing six rebounds, and averaging nearly two steals a game. Ariza averaged less than nine points a game in the regular season, and has averaged less than seven points a game for his career – yet, he’s being paid as a major offensive contributor would be. For his career is shoots below 30 percent from long range, and only 66% from the free throw line. These are not the type of stats that usually fetch nearly $35M.
Ariza is a good complementary player, he is not the all-around player his contract figures may lead you to believe he is. Kudos to Ariza’s agent, David Lee, who has been criticized by some. He landed Ariza a contract that is far more valuable than the player. But, Ariza better enjoy his money – it’s the last big contract he’ll ever sign.
A great deal has happened in this off-season already, and it appears August is poised for a lot of off the court action, too. But it will be hard to top such a peculiar, rushed move with the remaining crop of free agents (depending on who signs Allen Iverson!).
