Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 12:56 pm  |  19 responses

Secret Weapon

Trevor Ariza just keeps getting it done for the Lakers.

by Joseph Vecsey

Three years ago, who would have thought you’d rather have Trevor Ariza shooting a critical three in an NBA Finals game than J.J Redick? It’s astonishing to see a guy who was little-known in college and drafted in the second round after just one year at UCLA by the New York Knicks being this big of a factor for the Lakers this year; as opposed to the first-round pick Redick from Duke, who is used on tapes to show shooting skills but isn’t that big of a factor for the Magic. I am not disrespecting Redick—he came in and played a decent 17 minutes the other night in Game 4, but Ariza has become a much bigger factor forariza his team at this point than Redick is for his.

It’s just funny how things work, especially after Larry Brown branded Ariza as “delusional” in his rookie year when playing for the Knicks. Ariza wondered why he was no longer in the rotation and why did LB say that about him? We still don’t know. And unless I’m hallucinating, Ariza is having a pretty good series; not to mention a pretty good career and, with free agency on the horizon, figures to continue to have one in the future.

Needless to say, Ariza is very happy that Phil Jackson has given him the opportunity to contribute this well. I spoke to Ariza at yesterday’s media availability, and when I asked him what the differences were between playing for Jackson and Brown, he said, “Coach Brown gives tough love, gets on you for every single thing, but still wants you to be the best player you can be. Jackson wants the same thing, but doesn’t beat you with a stick.”

Ariza, who only turns 24 later this month, has a lot of confidence himself and knew he could make it to this point in his career. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and so do the coaches,” Ariza says.

Now remember, this is also the same player the Magic traded to the Lakers in exchange for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans. In all fairness at the time, it wasn’t a bad trade, but maybe they shouldn’t have given him up due to the damage he’s doing in the Finals against them now.

It’s also nice to see someone humble and under the radar play this well. Ariza said a while back that he is dedicating the playoffs to his deceased five-year-old brother Tajh, who fell 30 stories out of an apartment window on March 18th, 1996. Since then he has used his brother as motivation to get himself into the starting lineup of the Lakers. Ariza not only dedicated the playoffs to his deceased brother, but named his first son Tajih in memory of him as well as having many tattoos on his body of Tajih’s face.

Ariza has averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals in 31 mpg during this postseason Playoffs. Again, not bad for a second-round draft pick who is now on the verge of his first championship ring. If/when the Lakers wrap up these Finals, Ariza will probably be given a nice contract that will solidify his existence in the league. Will it be by the Lakers or a different team? I would assume the Lakers will give Ariza the money he wants after helping them win an NBA championship.  I’m sure most people would agree that it’s great to see people who go through awful tragedies get to this level in their career. And you know it’s the result of only three things at the end of the day: hard work, extremely focused work ethic, and confidence. Three things we should all admire and strive for in any field that we are in. It will be interesting to see what type of player Ariza turns into in the coming years and if he could possibly be the star of a team if put in that position. Either way, he will be a more than helpful addition to any team he plays on.

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  • Young Chris MP3 Posted: Jun.14 at 1:11 pm
    Can the Lakers afford giving him a decent contract with all the big money they give out to Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and especially Bynum?

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Jun.14 at 1:15 pm
    ariza was def. the difference in these playoffs for the lakers, cuz it sure wasnt kobe missing 20 shots

  • Krishan Posted: Jun.14 at 1:39 pm
    Of course this article was about Kobe! I must be turning dyslexic or something, because I thought it was about some guy named Trevor Ariza! Thank you tarzan for pointing that out, oh my god!

  • Anthony Posted: Jun.14 at 1:52 pm
    Yes it’s strange that his 13 3rd quarter points in Game 4 haven’t gotten any mention in recent days in the media..

  • Reflex Posted: Jun.14 at 2:04 pm
    lol! at Krishan. Hater’s always gonna hate! Ariza’s really stepped up and has become one of these everyman players ala Odom in that he can do it all,i.e. shoot the 3, drive, rebound, play defense, run the floor etc, very happy for the success he’s having as you can see the work he’s put in to be where he is. As for the Lakers affording him, probably not but they’ve never beeen shy of paying some luxury tax and I’m sure Trevor will be looking at $10m a year should they win the chip. A lineup of Kobe, Odom, Ariza, Pau & Bynum (I think he can be a 20-10 player, we’ll see how he bounces back from this year’s injury next season) looks really tasty. If they can steal a couple of gems in the draft they could have an intesteing squad.

  • thesubwayconnection Posted: Jun.14 at 2:09 pm
    He’s a great compliment to the Lakers core guys. I’d sign him.

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jun.14 at 3:24 pm
    Andrew Bynum has been kind of like Greg Oden as of late. I don’t mean to be mean, but he really needs to learn how to not pick up cheap fouls.
    Trevor Ariza is awesome.

  • Diogo Posted: Jun.14 at 3:55 pm
    Teddy-the-Bear, you just wait until Bynum returns! Oh wait…

  • SLAM ONLINE | » NBA Finals: Game 5 Live Blog Posted: Jun.14 at 3:56 pm
    [...] Lakers’ Key: Ariza [...]

  • scorp99cam Posted: Jun.14 at 5:55 pm
    “In all fairness at the time, it wasn’t a bad trade,” You’re right it wasn’t a bad trade…it was a terrible one

  • BETCATS Posted: Jun.14 at 10:01 pm
    Off topic: Is Joseph related to Peter?

  • SLAM ONLINE | Posted: Jun.14 at 10:16 pm
    [...] Lakers’ Key: Ariza [...]

  • chintao Posted: Jun.14 at 11:37 pm
    Ariza is one of the few Lakers that does not provoke unmitigated hatred.

  • Joey E. Posted: Jun.15 at 4:30 am
    i swear, he would fit on any NBA team. Lakers must re-sign him. He’s bigger than Posey was to Boston, and we saw how much they missed him.

  • Dutch Rob Posted: Jun.15 at 6:40 am
    Not a big fan of the Lakers, but Ariza is on of the few players i like on their roster. They should resign him

  • tavoris Posted: Jun.15 at 8:39 am
    chintao…I agree. Altho u gotta feel good for Odom too, with all he’s been through the last year or so. Losing a CHILD can make even the highest-paid basketball player think about hanging up his sneakers

  • al Posted: Jun.15 at 10:46 am
    Eat a fat one LB.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Jun.15 at 11:15 am
    ariza or odom is going to have to go

  • COLT6 Posted: Jun.17 at 7:17 am
    Ariza is a lockdown defensive demon. The Lakers would not have won it all this year if not for him. He misses open 3s sometimes but he comes through when needed in the clutch. Remember his steals against Denver? His unexpected 3s against the Orlando ChokeSTANtic? TA deserves a fat check next season. I have an irrational hatred for the Lakers probably because Kobe Bryant is just a pure copy cat of His Airness but for the Lakeshow to try to repeat at a bargain, they should ship Odom. Props to Pau also. Y’all are forgetting that he is the captain of the second-best team in the world (Spain, dimwit!) He has become one of the best international players in the L, probably next to Obi Wan Ginobili.

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