Lakers Should Never Have Parted Ways With Trevor Ariza

As I watched Trevor Ariza make six three-pointers and score 22 points in the decisive game seven between the Rockets and the Clippers, I was reminded how he could have, and should have, been playing for the Lakers these past few seasons. I had a very bad feeling when the Lakers shockingly showed Ariza the door in the summer of 2009. They had won a championship that year, and Ariza was a major contributor. He was 24 at the time, and his solid play as a starter on that team, particularly in the playoffs, portended a long, successful career in which he would continue to get better. That is precisely what happened, only he wasn’t allowed to display that talent for his hometown fans.

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Ariza grew up in Los Angeles and attended Westchester High School, where he led the basketball team to a California State Championship. He was a five-star recruit who was ranked the 18^th best prep player in the nation by Rivals.com. He accepted a scholarship to play at UCLA for Ben Howland. After one season, at age 19, he entered the NBA draft and was chosen by the Knicks with the 43^rd pick in the second round. He played in New York for two seasons where he showed good promise. Eventually he was traded to the Lakers for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans.

Ariza played two seasons for the Lakers and continued to improve each year. As a starter on the 2008-09 championship team, he excelled in the playoffs averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 50% on three-point shots. Most important, he had emerged as a fierce defender (something the Lakers have sorely lacked the past few seasons). He had two key steals in decisive moments in the playoffs, one involving Chauncey Billups and the other Carmelo Anthony, which were instrumental in the Lakers’ path to the championship. When the season ended, Ariza was a free agent though it appeared certain the Lakers would rush to lock-up their young, emerging star to a long-term deal.

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It was not to be. The Lakers fell in love with the idea of signing Metta World Peace instead. The team loves stars, and World Peace was perceived to be just that (though it is unclear whether he deserved the label). Ariza, on the other hand, was likely to be key role player rather than a star, in the same vein as Robert Horry and Derek Fisher were key members of the supporting cast. The Lakers chose World Peace with all his baggage and despite the fact he was much older than Ariza. It is unclear if the team even tendered an offer to Ariza, but nonetheless, after the Lakers signed World Peace, Ariza signed a modest multi-year contract with the Rockets.

For one year the switch worked out fine, as the Lakers won another championship in 2010. World Peace behaved himself and played an important role, especially in the decisive seventh game of the final round against the Celtics when Kobe Bryant played one of his worst games ever. However, after his first year with the team, World Peace’s play started to decline rapidly and he has now been retired for quite a while. Meanwhile, Ariza is in his prime as evidenced by his typically strong game against the Clippers on Sunday. At 29, given the nature of his game, where he is a great defender in the post and on the perimeter, and he hits key three point shots in big moments, he could contribute to a winning team for some years to come.

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The Lakers miscalculated badly when they showed Trevor Ariza the door. He was a popular player, a local success story who no doubt dreamed of playing for the Lakers when he was growing up. He did not want to leave. He was a young, skilled player whom the Lakers treated poorly for some inexplicable reason. He went on to play very well for the Wizards and the Rockets. He will never receive the attention lavished by the media on “superstars” James Harden and Dwight Howard, but if the Rockets make it to the finals this year, it is a sure thing that Ariza will have played a major role. For the Lakers, Ariza’s tenure with the team is a mere footnote in history, one that has been largely forgotten amidst the troubles of the past three seasons. Still, for those with longer memories, how the Lakers mishandled Ariza will stand as a prime example of sacrificing the long-term health of a franchise for short-lived, immediate gratification.

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