LA Trade and Down Goes GA
Los Angeles Gets: Trevor Ariza
Orlando Gets: Brian Cook & Maurice Evans
For the Lakers…
As hard as it might be to believe, on 11/20 LA GM Mitch Kupchak actually made a good trade for a change. Ariza is a young (22 years old), long (6’8) and extremely athletic SF. While his jumper is very shaky, Trevor can finish at the rim, defend and rebound. What makes this such a great deal for the Lakers is that Ariza is a type of player that LA does not have anywhere else on their roster. An athletic defensive minded guy with size on the wings is something the Lakers have been lacking for a long while.
The bad part of this move for LA is losing Evans. Mo is not destined for stardom or anything, but in the ten minutes or so behind Kobe Bryant the Lakers could do much worse. And in fact, they will. Now the bane of my existence, Sasha Vujacic, steps in to those afore mentioned ten minutes to drive me crazy on a nightly basis. I know Coby Karl lacks the athleticism to be an NBA player, but at least Karl plays smart and gives an honest effort. Can’t really say the same for Sasha.
Jettisoning Cook’s sour puss for anything is good news to me because Vladimir Radmanovic is the same player as Cookie, only better. Conversely, Trevor’s arrival in LA could eventually spell the end of Luke Walton’s days in the rotation.
For the Magic…
As I wrote in my pre-season piece, I thought Orlando would eventually trade Hedo Turkoglu for some help up front because Turk’s talents are the same as big free agent signing Rashard Lewis. Well, Magic GM Otis Smith went in the exact opposite direction by dealing the guy with a different skill set (Ariza) for another player in Cook that triplicates what Hedo and R-Lew already do.
I can see what Otis is thinking though. Lewis and Turkoglu have played so well in tandem off big man Dwight Howard that Smith wants to have another guy off the bench that keeps their two-big-forwards-that-can-shoot-from-deep alignment going. While Brian’s skills do fit that mold, Cookie’s intensity, rebounding and commitment to defense are lacking more times than not.
The Evans addition intrigues me more because I don’t see how he fits in down there. He’s more or less the same player as starting SG Keith Bogans is. However I’d take Mo over either Keyon Dooling or J.J. Redick as a backup. The problem with that is it’s normally not a good idea to back up a guy with someone that does the same things. Although Orlando seems to be trying to buck that trend. I suppose the plan could be to play Evans behind Hedo at SF, but as much as I like Mo he doesn’t have the size to defend most SF’s.
Winner – Lakers
> On 11/21 Gilbert Arenas underwent two different surgical procedures on his left knee. The same knee he had surgery on late last season by the way. This time around he had a partial tear of the meniscus repaired (again) and microfracture surgery on a non-weight bearing bone on the side of his knee. The second part of his procedure (microfracture) is going all but unmentioned in most reports and I’m not sure why. The prognosis for Arenas is about three months, but something tells me it could be much, much longer than that before he’s back to the Gil of old.
The silver lining in this for Washington is that I don’t think they’re really that much worse off. Veteran Antonio Daniels is more than an adequate replacement for GA. While Daniels may wear down a little with the additional minutes, AD is a completely different player than Arenas. Antonio is a distributor first on offense (as opposed to a scorer), a great decision maker who knows how to run a team and a solid defender taboot. The way Daniels plays the position will allow Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler to increase their production organically without taking touches away from the rest of the squad.
The real key for the Wizards staying afloat though is what their young players give them while Gil is out. Third year big man Andray Blatche has really impressed me lately (even before GA went down). Blatche has always been one of those “upside” guys whose head really didn’t match his physical gifts. Well he seems to be “getting it” a little bit more now, although his focus still wanes at times and he’s exceptionally foul prone. That said, the kid is very long and ultra-athletic for someone his size (weight, not height). While Andray is still developing as an on-ball defender, he’s got a knack for blocking shots from the weak side already. He doesn’t really have a go-to move on offense, but if he can continue to rebound the ball and stick to garbage/transition points, Washington may just have their center of the future.
The Wiz could also use some consistent scoring from rookie SG Nick Young, and he seems capable of that, albeit not much else. Another rookie, SF Dominic McGuire, hasn’t played much but I’ve liked what little I’ve seen of him. Their third rookie, Oleksiy Pecherov, has yet to play a game (fractured right ankle) and is at least two weeks away from returning to practice. Hopefully for them Pech and McGuire can combined to contribute something behind Butler at SF.
Washington only needs to stay within shouting distance of .500 until Arenas gets back and they should be fine. Obviously for that to happen Antonio, Tawn and Caron need to stay healthy and step up, but Blatche and Young becoming dependable is no less important. Heck, without GA dominating the ball the Wiz might even be fun to watch again.
Orlando Gets: Brian Cook & Maurice Evans
For the Lakers…
As hard as it might be to believe, on 11/20 LA GM Mitch Kupchak actually made a good trade for a change. Ariza is a young (22 years old), long (6’8) and extremely athletic SF. While his jumper is very shaky, Trevor can finish at the rim, defend and rebound. What makes this such a great deal for the Lakers is that Ariza is a type of player that LA does not have anywhere else on their roster. An athletic defensive minded guy with size on the wings is something the Lakers have been lacking for a long while.
The bad part of this move for LA is losing Evans. Mo is not destined for stardom or anything, but in the ten minutes or so behind Kobe Bryant the Lakers could do much worse. And in fact, they will. Now the bane of my existence, Sasha Vujacic, steps in to those afore mentioned ten minutes to drive me crazy on a nightly basis. I know Coby Karl lacks the athleticism to be an NBA player, but at least Karl plays smart and gives an honest effort. Can’t really say the same for Sasha.
Jettisoning Cook’s sour puss for anything is good news to me because Vladimir Radmanovic is the same player as Cookie, only better. Conversely, Trevor’s arrival in LA could eventually spell the end of Luke Walton’s days in the rotation.
For the Magic…
As I wrote in my pre-season piece, I thought Orlando would eventually trade Hedo Turkoglu for some help up front because Turk’s talents are the same as big free agent signing Rashard Lewis. Well, Magic GM Otis Smith went in the exact opposite direction by dealing the guy with a different skill set (Ariza) for another player in Cook that triplicates what Hedo and R-Lew already do.
I can see what Otis is thinking though. Lewis and Turkoglu have played so well in tandem off big man Dwight Howard that Smith wants to have another guy off the bench that keeps their two-big-forwards-that-can-shoot-from-deep alignment going. While Brian’s skills do fit that mold, Cookie’s intensity, rebounding and commitment to defense are lacking more times than not.
The Evans addition intrigues me more because I don’t see how he fits in down there. He’s more or less the same player as starting SG Keith Bogans is. However I’d take Mo over either Keyon Dooling or J.J. Redick as a backup. The problem with that is it’s normally not a good idea to back up a guy with someone that does the same things. Although Orlando seems to be trying to buck that trend. I suppose the plan could be to play Evans behind Hedo at SF, but as much as I like Mo he doesn’t have the size to defend most SF’s.
Winner – Lakers
> On 11/21 Gilbert Arenas underwent two different surgical procedures on his left knee. The same knee he had surgery on late last season by the way. This time around he had a partial tear of the meniscus repaired (again) and microfracture surgery on a non-weight bearing bone on the side of his knee. The second part of his procedure (microfracture) is going all but unmentioned in most reports and I’m not sure why. The prognosis for Arenas is about three months, but something tells me it could be much, much longer than that before he’s back to the Gil of old.
The silver lining in this for Washington is that I don’t think they’re really that much worse off. Veteran Antonio Daniels is more than an adequate replacement for GA. While Daniels may wear down a little with the additional minutes, AD is a completely different player than Arenas. Antonio is a distributor first on offense (as opposed to a scorer), a great decision maker who knows how to run a team and a solid defender taboot. The way Daniels plays the position will allow Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler to increase their production organically without taking touches away from the rest of the squad.
The real key for the Wizards staying afloat though is what their young players give them while Gil is out. Third year big man Andray Blatche has really impressed me lately (even before GA went down). Blatche has always been one of those “upside” guys whose head really didn’t match his physical gifts. Well he seems to be “getting it” a little bit more now, although his focus still wanes at times and he’s exceptionally foul prone. That said, the kid is very long and ultra-athletic for someone his size (weight, not height). While Andray is still developing as an on-ball defender, he’s got a knack for blocking shots from the weak side already. He doesn’t really have a go-to move on offense, but if he can continue to rebound the ball and stick to garbage/transition points, Washington may just have their center of the future.
The Wiz could also use some consistent scoring from rookie SG Nick Young, and he seems capable of that, albeit not much else. Another rookie, SF Dominic McGuire, hasn’t played much but I’ve liked what little I’ve seen of him. Their third rookie, Oleksiy Pecherov, has yet to play a game (fractured right ankle) and is at least two weeks away from returning to practice. Hopefully for them Pech and McGuire can combined to contribute something behind Butler at SF.
Washington only needs to stay within shouting distance of .500 until Arenas gets back and they should be fine. Obviously for that to happen Antonio, Tawn and Caron need to stay healthy and step up, but Blatche and Young becoming dependable is no less important. Heck, without GA dominating the ball the Wiz might even be fun to watch again.
posted by D$ at 10:48 AM
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