Trevor Ariza Will Make Lakers Pay One Way Or The Other

This free agency is beginning to look grim for teams that were hoping to keep their players at a reasonable price. News came out yesterday that Trevor Ariza is the latest free agent planning to leave his home team after the "insulting" offer they made which, according to reports, was a multi-year deal at the full mid-level exception. Now, granted that exaggeration always plays a role in the art of negotiation, but one should consider the question: would the Lakers have won a championship this year without Ariza? Actually, I'm wrong. The more pertinent question in this case is actually: who was the Lakers' third best player in the playoffs—Ariza or Lamar Odom? My answer would be Ariza. He made game-saving plays in the playoffs on several occasions. He made open shots on a consistent basis when teams were giving too much attention to Gasol and Bryant. He actually played better on the court with Kobe Bryant than Lamar Odom. He generally guarded the other team's ... (link)