[CHRONIC] On vacation and in a Melo state of mind.

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2010/08/on_vacation_and_in_a_melo_stat.html

When Daryl Morey made his late call to the Phoenix Suns to check on the availability of Amar'e Stoudemire, the conversation did not last long. Morey was hoping to pick up a bargain, but Steve Kerr was open about Stoudemire's refusal to sign an extension or undergo a physical and the talks soon ended.

Morey did not want a two-month rental for a season likely heading to the lottery, anyway. He was not confident — especially without a physical — that he would offer Stoudemire enough to entice him to stay beyond his contract.

A chance to get Carmelo Anthony would be very different.

Had the Rockets traded for Stoudemire, Daryl Morey did not believe he'd be able to keep him. There were too many questions about Stoudemire's knee, defense and rebounding for many teams to be willing to offer anything necessary.

The Knicks did not go to the max, but their five-year, $99.8 million deal likely would have gotten Stoudemire no matter where he finished last season.

Anthony is a max player. It can be argued whether he should be, but he is unquestionably pretty close and will receive whatever the new max will be should he become a free agent and it will take the extension max to keep him from becoming a free agent.

Teams that consider trading for him now, including the Rockets, can believe that they would not be outbid for him next summer. And the Rockets have much higher hopes for next season than they had in mid-February last season.

Morey has made no secret that the Rockets' goal is to get a second star, a perimeter force to go with Yao Ming. Anthony is not just a prolific scorer; he is a last-minute star. He will fit with whoever the Rockets would still have in the backcourt. He would excel in Rick Adelman's motion-based offense.

Much of the talk could be meaningless. The Nuggets don't have a GM. When they get one, he might want at least some time with Anthony on his roster. If the Nuggets are fearful of losing Anthony for nothing, they could deal him in February, rather than rush to make an August move to help fill the slow news part of the NBA off-season.

If Anthony would sign an extension, however, the Rockets would offer just about anything necessary to get him. Start with Kevin Martin. Add a Knicks pick. Include young talent.

He more likely, however, will want to keep his options open. He can always sign that extension during the season, whether he remains in Denver or moves.

That would dramatically reduce the offers the Nuggets would receive, especially with so many reports of Anthony's affinity for New York (his wife's hometown and where he can play with Stoudemire and get closer to his East Coast roots). The SportsIllustrated.com report that he would also sign with the Nets or Rockets would not influence much unless his signs. But this would be different from other ambivalent pursuits of a potential rental.

Morey has spoken of making the season before the lockout "a special season." This time, it would be worth the gamble to add a true star with the hopes he will stick around long term.

• • •

As some of you might have noticed, I started a vacation this weekend and will be out for a few weeks. Jerome Solomon picked up the Courtney Lee press conference this afternoon. Thanks for that. And I enjoyed seeing Jerome refer to someone as a young person, rather than being one himself as I recall from the not-so-distant (work with me here) past.

I'll probably pop in for a blog entry like this one from time to time and will keep posting comments as I can, but here are a few things to ponder (debate?) while I grab some R & R.

• • •

If the Knicks are in the lottery next year, they keep their pick only if it is the top pick. Otherwise, assuming the Rockets have a better season than that, the teams switch draft position.

So who goes to the lottery? Do the Rockets have Kyle Lowry take stage hoping to move up, but not all the way? Do the Knicks have Amar'e Stoudemire standing in the wings to jump in if the Knicks win the whole thing?

• • •

The trade last week also leads to another question without an obvious (and probably not necessary) answer.

The Rockets get a $6.3 million trade exception from the Trevor Ariza deal with one year to use it or lose it. If they don't use it by the trade deadline, they cannot use it at all until after the end of the regular season. It could still come in handy in those weeks, especially on draft night. But if the Rockets do not use it by July 1 and a lockout begins, does the clock keep ticking?

There can be no trades during a lockout. If still unused, will their exception expire during a lockout or will they get those six weeks back?

• • •



As far as the trade, I went through some of the similarities with the Rafer Alston-Kyle Lowry deal last week, but left one out.

It was bizarre that season the way Rafer had gone from reviled to cherished the day he was traded. The guy was ripped locally through much of his tenure, until the day he was traded. Then he was described as a guy the Rockets could not live without.

Though not to the same degree, Ariza has received similar treatment. For one season, we kept hearing about all he did not do well. Then he was traded and was described as indispensable.

In a lot of ways, Ariza is a more exciting player than Lee (despite Lee's youTube dunks on LeBron James.) Ariza is more likely to jump in a passing lane and create a fast break with a steal of deflection. But Lee is a proud defensive player, better on the ball against quickness. He is more likely to limit off-the-dribble penetration, and he gives the Rockets that emergency combo guard they lacked last season.

Ariza is better suited to defend against size. He might be more likely to produce the occasional game-changing performance.

Ariza should flourish with Chris Paul. He runs the floor well and Paul creates openings all around him. Paul also dominates the ball, which is not always a good thing but will help Ariza, if only to keep Ariza from his tendency to over-dribble.

Ariza generally played up to his contract last season, once he stopped letting the frustration of his early-season offensive struggles impact the rest of his game. He should be a solid, mid-level guy with the Hornets, too.

The Pacers would seem to have made out best in the deal, getting a young point guard on a rookie contract who even fits their style. They had made no secret of their urgent desire to get a point guard and got what they needed.

The Nets should have done better with all that cap room than a season with Troy Murphy before trying to go into the free agent market again.

The Rockets might not have gotten a player better than the one they traded. In time, he might be. But under their circumstances, they might have made themselves a better team.

• • •

Before leaving the trade entirely, a couple things should be cleared up just a bit.

The Rockets never said that they needed Trevor Ariza to reach some other level to be happy with him and the deal. They could give him the opportunity to expand his game and that opportunity was a primary reason he signed with them, but Daryl Morey said many, many times that the he would consider the deal a good move if Ariza played as he did for the Lakers.

For the Rockets, Lee is a fine fit. That they chased him for more than two years does not mean they would have taken him in the top 10 of that draft or would have offered the same sort of deal they would to get Carmelo Anthony.