Yes? Like the majority of Laker fans, I really liked Trevor Ariza. In his previous five NBA seasons of virtual anonymity, Ariza never seemed to fit into the chemistry with his teams. Chalk it up to inexperience or the adjustment from college to the pros. Enter the 2008-9 season, and Ariza blossoms, playing in every regular season game, and averaging nearly nine points, four rebounds, and two steals in every one of them. Come the playoffs and he’s easily the most integral player outside of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, providing consistently strong defense and clutch steals. While the numbers mentioned above may not “wow” anybody, remember that Ariza has always been considered an average player, and that last season could be considered his breakout year. Is it all that strange that he should ask for a multi-year deal at about $6 million a season? No, it’s not, considering his role on a championship team, but in this market you can’t fool yourself into thinking the already penny-pinching Lakers will bite.

Perhaps large-market teams are getting smarter, refusing to award talent with big contracts after one successful season. Prior to last season, Ariza hadn’t made much of an impression in the NBA, and then out of nowhere he’s starting in the NBA Finals. And where did that shot come from? Given the economic climate, I think it would’ve been a wise decision to give Ariza a one-year deal, worth a little more than what he was making the previous season. If he could then replicate his success, then by all means, secure the guy for the next few seasons. But this didn’t happen, and maybe this is to the fault of Ariza’s agent, David Lee, who seemed to attack the Lakers from the onset. While Ariza was valuable to the Lakers, value is measured in worth. There’s an old story about a woman who unknowingly bought a Van Gogh at a garage sale. She used it as a window shade and it became all faded from the sun. She even cut off a piece of the painting to make it fit. When it became obvious what she had, all these experts came to investigate. When they asked her why she had cut the painting she responded, “It was just a little piece of the sky.” (Thanks to Tom Waits for the anecdote.) Value is obviously subjective, and obviously Ariza wasn’t as valuable to the Lakers as he thought. He was a piece to their championship puzzle, but one that was apparently replaceable in the mind of Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak. The Rockets, however, saw much worth in Ariza, to the tune of five years and $33 million.