In a four-team trade announced today, the Houston Rockets traded forward Trevor Ariza to the New Orleans Hornets. In exchange, the Rockets get shooting guard Courtney Lee from the New Jersey Nets. The Nets receive power forward Troy Murphy from the Indiana Pacers, while Indiana gets point guard Darren Collison and forward James Posey from the Hornets.
For the Rockets, this trade is a salary dump for a team that was over the cap because of their recent signing of center Brad Miller and re-signings of forward Luis Scola and guard Kyle Lowry. In total, Houston will save $10 million in salary and luxury tax for Ariza, but do lose his perimeter defending on a team that was one of the worst in the NBA in overall defense last year. Lee averaged 12.5 PPG for the Nets last season.
For the Hornets, this is a head-scratcher as Collison (12.4 PPG, 5.4 APG) was one of the top rookie point guards in the league last year after filling in for the injured Chris Paul. Ariza, who averaged a career 14.9 PPG for Houston last season, however, does fill a need at SF for New Orleans, and strengthens their commitment to Paul long term.
The Pacers finally get the point guard they have needed for a long time in Collison, while the Nets get a veteran big man in Murphy (14.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG) to help the front line in New Jersey.
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