Detroit will not be pursuing Trevor Ariza this summer
In today’s copy of the Los Angeles Times, staff writer Mike Bresnahan argues that the Detroit Pistons may be the front-runners for the Lakers’ free agent small Trevor Ariza:
The Detroit Pistons will be more than $20 million under the salary cap and are expected to be aggressive in free-agency spending. Atlanta, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Toronto and Portland are also far enough under the cap to sign Lamar Odom or Trevor Ariza, though they are not expected to be as active as Detroit.
While Bresnahan is correct in his statement that the Pistons do have the salary cap space needed to sign Ariza, he fails to assess whether Detroit has any interest in Ariza in the first place. I find it hard to believe that Ariza would be Joe Dumar’s top priority for several reasons.
Reason #1: Tayshaun Prince and the 3 Position - The Pistons already have a starting small forward in Tayshaun Prince, who earns about $10 million a year. So, it would make little sense for Dumars to sign another small forward for roughly the same yearly figure. The Pistons can not afford to pay two players, who play the same position, $10 million each. There isn’t that much money to go around. They have other needs to address, largely power forward and center, so I would find it highly unlikely that Detroit would spend that kind of money on a player, who would become a backup small forward in the end.
Reason #2: LeBron James in 2010 - As most NBA fans are aware, the self-dubbed “Chose One,” LeBron James will be a free agent in the summer of 2010, and as a result, many teams are trying to get under the cap to make a run for his services. Since trading Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson’s expiring contract in November, most experts have been suggesting that Detroit is also lining up to try and sign “The King.” While the Motor City is not on the short list of desirable NBA cities to play in – cold weather, collapsing economy, high taxes in comparison to cities in Florida and Texas – it can provide a bright future for LeBron. Essentially, the Pistons are a winning organization, and if number twenty-three is set on winning NBA titles, than there might not be a better place to get that accomplished than Detroit. It’s certainly not going to be in New York. So with the chance of signing LeBron next offseason, I find it hard to believe that Detroit would spend any money at all this summer, especially not $10 million on a sixth man.
Reason #3: Bigger Fish to catch - If the Pistons do not feel capable of making a run at LeBron James in 2010, there are some free agents this summer that would be more serviceable than Ariza. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, Hedo Turkoglu and Carlos Boozer, both power forwards, are atop Detroit’s wish-list, not Ariza or even Odom. The only way Ariza even becomes an options is if Turkoglu and Boozer both sign elsewhere, and Dumars then determines that he must sign a free agent this offseason. As of right now, that seems like too many ifs.
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