Ariza to get shot at bigger role with 'scrappy' Rockets

HOUSTON -- It took Trevor Ariza five years and stops with three different NBA teams to sparkle as a part of a championship team with the Lakers, but only a matter of weeks to decide that now is the time to shine on his own.

"I enjoyed my time in L.A., appreciated my fans," Ariza said. "But now it's time for me to move on, to start a new chapter and I think this is the best place for me."

That place is with the Rockets, who signed him to a five-year, $33.95 million free agent contract, essentially swapping him for Ron Artest, who signed with the Lakers for the same deal.

It would have been easier for Ariza to have stayed in his hometown and tried to defend his title with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. It would have comfortable to slide into a slot in the lineup in Cleveland next to LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal.

"It was tempting," Ariza said of the late push from the Cavaliers in the form of phone calls from LeBron and Shaq. "It was really, really, really, really tempting."

By the way, Ariza said that, contrary to reports, James never told him he was staying in Cleveland beyond next season.

"He had nothing to say about his future," Ariza said. "I don't know where that came from. I know I didn't say anything to nobody. I don't know where that came from. He just told me that if I came there we'd have a good chance to win."

But by going to Cleveland, Ariza would merely have been trading three time zones for virtually the same role in the shadows with the Cavs that he felt he'd grown out of in L.A.

In Houston, the rangy 6-8 swingman will get a chance to step into more of a leader role with a Rockets team that will enter next season with huge question marks on the injured Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

"Any time you can sign an NBA champion who is 24 years old, you've got to jump at the chance and that's what we did," said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. "The minute we heard there was a shot we might be able to woo him out of the Lakers' fold, we were on the next flight.

"We feel like Trevor is someone who every year has added to his game. We feel like there's more of his game to come and Rockets fans are going to see that over the next season and in the seasons to come. He's going to be a big part of our squad going forward."

Averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.67 steals in game in the regular season, Ariza came on strong late and eventually displaced Lamar Odom in the starting lineup. While starting all 23 of the Lakers' playoff games, he kicked his numbers up to 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, shot .476 from behind the 3-point line in the Playoffs and excelled with his perimeter defense in the Playoffs.

Ariza figured all of that work merited him a significant raise from last year's $3.1 million salary, even well above the mid-level exception, which will be $5.85 million next season. When L.A. offered him only the mid-level, Ariza felt disrespected and balked. So the Lakers wasted no time immediately turning their attention to the veteran Artest.

There was also an option to go to Toronto, which could have netted roughly $9 million more over the life of the contract. But Ariza said he was swayed by head coach Rick Adelman's plan to make him a bigger part of the Houston offense and by his experience playing against the Rockets two months earlier in the Playoffs. The Rockets were the only team to extend the Lakers to the full seven-game limit in any playoff series.

"It had a lot to do with it," Ariza said. "I was approached by some really, really good teams. I felt like I could help myself a lot more and I could help myself also. But [that series] was definitely a good way to woo me.

"This is a great young team that has a lot of potential. It's very, very scrappy. They never give up and I believe that's the type of player I am. No matter what the situation is, up by 100 or down by 100, these guys still fight and continue. I'm happy to be part of that."

A much bigger part, as the Rockets will want him to carry more of the burden next season and hope he can become a leader among a core of young players as they go forward.

Ariza has played his role with Kobe & the Seven Dwarfs and it earned him a shiny ring. Now he'll see if he's ready to take the next step and sparkle as a star.