Houston Rockets: Why this may be Trevor Ariza’s last season with team

The Houston Rockets have made some big moves off the court this year, from trading for Chris Paul to giving James Harden a gargantuan contract extension.

The Houston Rockets have also made some smaller signings of role players to come in and produce off the bench in the form of Tarik Black, P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah A Moute.  The signing of P.J. Tucker to a four year deal for roughly $8 million per year signals something more though.

That’s just about the exact same contract Trevor Ariza has had over the past four seasons. And this year is the final year of his contract. Which signals to me the Rockets are going to have to lose money somewhere for the 2018 offseason, and Trevor Ariza will be that monetary loss.

While Ariza has been a great perimeter defender who can shoot the three reasonably well, the Rockets may have options in the free agent market next summer to replace Ariza that are younger and can provide similar offensive production.

One unrestricted free agent next year that stands out as a replacement should he not receive an extension from the Philadelphia 76er’s would be someone the Rockets waived prior to the 2014-2015 season in Robert Covington.  He’s 27 years old and is tremendous defensively. Here’s a scouting report per Yahoo Sports about his exploits as a phenomenal defender.

"The offensive numbers aren’t gaudy; he’s shot just 39.3 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from 3-point land since joining the Sixers. He’s become an excellent defender, though, ranking third among small forwards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus two seasons ago and No. 1 with a bullet last year, while standing as one of just 10 players in the league to log at least 300 steals and 100 blocks over the past three seasons. (Eight of the other nine are All-Stars…)"

When teams are looking at who to sign or trade for in order to improve their roster, every team looks at the Golden State Warriors and how that addition improves their chances at beating the reigning champs. Covington is 6’9″ and 215 pounds. Not a bad size to have going up against Kevin Durant, who is 6’9″ and 240 pounds.

Ariza is only an inch shorter than Covington but he also has five years in age on him. That’s the main key. Ariza will be 33 years old when free agency hits next summer. And there are plenty of younger guys with similar length and height that could help the team.

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If the team is going to commit time and money somewhere, you’re going to want to commit it to someone who can play alongside Harden with room to grow rather than decline. And given Ariza’s advanced age, it seems unlikely the team won’t look for younger guys who have that chance to become something more alongside The Beard.

Let’s not forget also the team’s massive efforts to get Paul George who can decline his player option with the Oklahoma City Thunder this year and be up for grabs once again in the coming season. The same and then some could be said for their efforts to nab Carmelo Anthony who also has a player option he can decline.

On the younger side of things there’s the restricted free agencies of Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker at the small forward that can play up to a four or down to a two if necessary. Though that would also rely on the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks not offering extensions or matching their offer sheets.

Still it doesn’t seem like Ariza fits into the plans of the Rockets anymore considering their need to contend sooner rather than later and the need to open up space on their payroll in any way shape or form to make room for another superstar.

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Ariza’s done well for the Rockets in his time here, but after this season that time may be up and the team would do well to search for more permanent and younger options with focus, as always, being on what matches up best with the Golden State Warriors. It will be sad to see him go, but it’s just the nature of the business. And it’s a decision the Rockets need to make.