The Boston Celtics aligned their three stars and rode them all the way to a NBA championship in 2008.The Houston Rockets hoped to do the same when they added unpredictable yet talented Ron Artest with their superstar duo of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming last summer. But a year later, their dream has unraveled.
McGrady and Yao are sidelined with potentially career-threatening injuries and Artest left Thursday in free agency, heading to the world champion Los Angeles Lakers to join forces with Kobe Bryant for a three-year deal.
In the span of two weeks, the Rockets have gone from a team that could challenge the Lakers for the Western Conference title to a team now saddled with the dreaded rebuilding tag.
Sure, the Rockets saved some face late Thursday night with the reported free agent agreement with 6-foot-8 small forward Trevor Ariza, 24, who delivered big for the Lakers during the NBA Finals a few weeks ago. In Ariza, the Rockets get a young player with far more upside than either Artest or McGrady.
Several teams, including the Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, fell in love with Ariza after watching the fifth-year pro come into his own during the Lakers' title run. Ariza averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds during the regular season, but during the playoffs he averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while giving the eventual champs some defensive punch. So it makes sense the Rockets will plop down their full mid-level exception that will pay Ariza a reported $5.6 million next season.
But the reality is that without Yao there aren't enough pieces to make Houston a serious contender anytime soon.
A Yao-Ariza tandem along with the explosive potential of McGrady might have created a buzz around the Rockets to start next season. But the often-injured Yao and McGrady aren't likely to be available to begin the season and conceivably may have already played their last basketball games for the Rockets.Word broke last week Yao could miss the entire 2009-10 season, and his career could be in jeopardy after fracturing his left foot during the Western Conference semifinals. His loss is a huge blow to the franchise that just two months ago deemed Yao its cornerstone and the only player not available for trade.
The potential loss of McGrady, while certainly not as damaging long-term, could hurt in the immediate future as his offensive explosiveness will be missed. It's already a foregone conclusion that McGrady's lengthy rehabilitation from microfracture surgery this past winter will shelve him for the start of next season, but McGrady, who's entering the final year of his contract, could sit out the entire season in anticipation of being ready for free agency next summer.
Those factors made it unlikely that Artest, who will soon turn 30, would want to re-sign with the Rockets this summer. Artest desperately wants to win a championship, and the Lakers presented his best chance to achieve that goal.
The concern with Artest will always be his unpredictable personality. For the most part, he was a model citizen in his one season with the Rockets, picking up the scoring and leadership once McGrady and Yao went down. Part of that was obviously due to Rick Adelman's prior relationship with Artest in Sacramento. It stands to reason Lakers head coach/resident voodoman Phil Jackson will also be able to handle Artest's ocassional outburts.
Artest seemed a lifetime removed from the infamous "Malice in the Palace," averaging 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while providing the Rockets with much needed defensive muscle and overall toughness.
But interestingly, the Rockets seemed to show little interest in re-signing Artest after the season. Instead they pursued other free agents and restricted free agents, including Ariza. Artest saw the writing on the wall, as well as the team's fading chance for a championship with Yao and McGrady out, so he headed West. He's been living in Los Angeles since the Rockets' surprising playoff run ended following a seven-game series with the Lakers and was likely urged to sign with the World Champions by old friend and Lakers' free agent Lamar Odom.
Artest and Bryant also have a strong relationship, despite how it looked during the semifinals when the two often clashed with both players drawing technical fouls. It'll now be interesting to see if the Lakers miss a beat with the apparent swapping of Ariza and Artest when the deals can officially be consummated on July 8.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, though, they're back at the drawing board.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
If the doctors think McGrady can come back by the beginning of next season, or close, then the Cavs need to offer Big Z, Gibson, and Pavlovic for him. The salaries match up and make it possible so i say go for it. Your trading three backups for a potential star if healthy. Lebron would get his own version of the "big 3" in him, Shaq, and McGrady. Maybe get Houston to throw in another player with small salary and i say its worth the risk for Cleveland. Lebron can almost carry them by himself with Mo's help during the season and let Shaq and McGrady play sparingly and then when the playoffs come you have a fresh T-Mac and Shaq along with Lebron and Mo.
If something like that happened could you imagine the Finals???? It would be like the old days full of All Stars - Lebron, Shaq, T-Mac, Mo, Kobe, Gasol, Artest, Odom, and Bynum all playing in a minimum of 4 games....
that would be a killer squad.