Houston Rockets: Why Trevor Ariza Will Not Be Traded
By Michael Knight
One player for the Rockets is in many trades in the national media’s predictions.
Starting small forward for the Rockets Trevor Ariza is not going anywhere. He is too valuable to Houston on more levels than just being a productive player. He has strong friendships with several star players, including the two on the Rockets.
While Trevor Ariza did not have his strongest year, he was still a good player for the team and had a couple of great games. Overall, he averaged 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 34.4% from downtown.
Why He Will Stay
When Chris Paul confirmed in his press conference that Trevor Ariza is one of the players that convinced him to come to Houston, it showed that Trev is likely to stay. It was rumored for awhile that he was apart of the recruiting, but now that is it official, Trevor Ariza should be taken out of any trade proposals for Carmelo Anthony.
If Ariza was a part of the recruiting for Chris Paul, who else could he help Houston get in the future? The Rockets should keep him around for that if nothing else.
Besides Harden, @CP3 said @TrevorAriza raved about strength of #Rockets as an organization through this process. Important in his decision.
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 14, 2017
Everyone on the team seems to love the Rockets organization, that’s for sure. James Harden even said that they are like family and that he talks to people in the organization more than his mom. Maybe that is something you should not have said, James, but it is nice to hear that the Rockets are so close.
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Back to Ariza, he has value to stay on the team even if he was not a recruiter. He is one of the premier 3-and-D players in the league. He shoots the 3 decently, depending on the year, and guards the other team’s best forward. If the Rockets want to compete with teams like the Warriors and the Cavs, then they need Trevor Ariza.
He is sure to bounce back from a poor shooting year. Even in a down year, Ariza still had games where he lit up the opposing defense. With Chris Paul in town now, Trevor can expect even more open 3s than ever before.
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