NBA Trade Update – Rockets Trade Ariza In Salary Dump

Trevor Ariza is on the move again. After being signed by the Houston Rockets last summer, and leaving the champion Lakers in the dust, the swingman is headed to New Orleans to join forces with Chris Paul. It’s an obvious salary dump for Houston, who was able to get four teams involved in a big, mid-week trade.

The Houston Rockets are plagued by decision making right now. Looking at the landscape of the Western Conference, it’s apparent that they’re not going to be NBA Championship contenders for the next few years. Yao Ming might retire, Tracy McGrady is gone, and the team has no viable uberstars in the making.

So the Rockets engineered a trade with the Nets, Pacers and Hornets to get rid of one of their best players. Ok, this is going to get confusing. Let’s break this down simpler…

Houston Rockets Acquire Courtney Lee
The Rockets are now left with Kevin Martin as their lone superstar, who will play alongside Aaron Brooks and hopefully Yao Ming. The team is looking more towards the future and, fearing an NBA lockout in 2011, they’re shedding payroll.

Houston saw their payroll skyrocket to $81 million this summer after extending Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry and adding Brad Miller. This move will save them nearly $28 million. Sad to see Ariza go, but as they say, “it’s just business”.

Courtney Lee will be sent to Houston as trade fodder, and while he’s a serviceable bench player, he’s not a great starter nor will he ever be.

New Jersey Nets Acquire Troy Murphy
The New Jersey native is heading back home, and the 6-foot-11 power forward couldn’t be happier. Murphy has been playing very consistently lately, averaging 14.5 points and 11.0 rebounds for the past two seasons. The Nets are going very, very big this year. They already have Brook Lopez, will add Murphy and acquired Derrick Favors and former Duke standout Brian Zoubek through the draft.

Devin Harris and Jordan Farmer will start as dual-guards most likely, since there is no apparent shooting-guard on the team. Avery Johnson has a lot more to work with than expected, and New Jersey is moving in to a dangerous position heading in to 2011. They will likely have enough cap space to attract the bigger name free-agents next summer.

Indiana Pacers Acquire Darren Collison, James Posey
Collison was a sensational rookie last year for New Orleans. After Chris Paul bowed out to injury, Collison came alive and averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists. He’s a fantastic point-guard, but with Chris Paul already in the Big Easy, there was no place for his talent.

Well now there’s plenty of room for him in Indiana. The Pacers still have T.J. Ford’s salary to deal with, but he’s in the final year. Moving forward, the Pacers need to ensure that all the pieces that they have surrounding superstar Danny Granger are secured. Collison will definitely be part of their future plans.

Keep this in mind about the Pacers – they have always been a dangerous spread busting team. They may have gone 40-40-2 ATS last season, but much of that was due to injuries to Granger. The oddsmakers will be going bananas trying to figure out how to grade this team, and if you catch them at the right time, this could be an NBA spread darling for the betting public.