Re: Ariza wont accept hometown discount; To Cleveland?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartholomew Hunt
I'm grateful for what Ariza did for this team, but Mitch got down to business and made an upgrade. David Lee shouldn't spout off at the mouth a day after free agency begins anymore.
Lee is only going to hurt Ariza, imo. If he bullies the other teams the same as us, I could see them telling him to **** off too.
Re: Ariza wont accept hometown discount; To Cleveland?
Quote:
Ariza agreed to a five-year deal with the Rockets for about $33 million, roughly the same that the Lakers had offered in their effort to retain him.
"I had to do what was best for me and family," Ariza said. "I am happy with my decision. I'm glad this all worked out. The Rockets are going to give me a chance to improve my game and that's all you can ask for."
Ariza's agent, David Lee, said the 24-year-old forward passed up a more lucrative contract offer from another team with salary-cap space. "We decided to go with Houston anyway," Lee said. "It was never about the money. It was about going someplace where you felt appreciated."
I can tell you definitively Trevor had an offer that was nine million more than what the Rockets offered and he decided to go with Houston," said David Lee, Ariza's agent, in an interview Thursday with FOX 26 Sports.
"It's like I told (Lakers General Manager) Mitch Kupchak. It was never about the money. It was about being at a place where he felt wanted and appreciated."
Re: Ariza wont accept hometown discount; To sign with Houston
^ That image is so priceless!
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Ariza was Plan A: With the Los Angeles Laker boldly agreeing to terms with forward Ron Artest, General Manager Mitch Kupchak has landed a player the team has been itching to acquire since he was in Indiana.
The cost was the well-liked Trevor Ariza, who has agreed to sign an MLE deal with the Houston Rockets (~$32.3 million).
A source tells that Kupchak was prepared to give Ariza an offer equivalent to the full MLE but at 10.5% raises, totaling at approximately $33.8 million over five years.
LA's ceiling might have been a $6 million starting salary for $36 million over five but before negotiations progressed after 9:00pm Pacific on Tuesday night, the source says that Ariza's agent, David Lee, took a confrontational approach with Kupchak.
Lee wanted a deal in the $50 million range and took offense to the team's stance that Trevor should test the market first for that level of compensation.
By the next morning, the Lakers were going after Artest in full force with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and even Magic Johnson reaching out to the Houston forward.
LA was acknowledging privately that Ariza was going down the path of Ronny Turiaf, a player the team had great affection for and wanted to keep but couldn't because of economics.
Ariza's agent ended up settling for significantly less money with the Rockets, at least based on the expectations he presented to Kupchak. .
Ariza wont accept hometown discount; To sign with Houston
And God said, Let There Be Rock. And there was Led Zeppelin. 
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