NBA Free Agency: Most Overrated Signings

Apr 27, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (1) shoots the ball as Chicago Bulls guard

(12) looks on in the third quarter in game four of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 98-89. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Ariza, SF

New Team: Houston Rockets

How many times do the Rockets need to use Trevor Ariza as a bridge to the next guy? Of all the teams in the league, they know what he can do, and it never seems to work out that well for them.

Don’t get me wrong; Ariza is a good player, and he had a great season last year in Washington. Ariza will definitely be a good fit with the Rockets. He likes to shoot threes and get out in transition. Of all the teams in the league, Houston is one of the best in both of those areas.

What bothers me about Ariza is the fact that he doesn’t really make the Rockets better. There’s not much difference between Ariza and Chandler Parsons, so Houston retains at least most of Parsons’ productivity in the Ariza signing. Even with Chandler Parsons as the third best player, the Rockets weren’t winning a title. The same goes for Ariza.

I don’t anticipate Ariza’s game improving that much when he’s been in the league for 10 years and will be 30 in two years. No one’s freaking out about the Ariza signing putting the Rockets into the title picture. He’s not taking the Rockets to the next level, and reasonable people understand that. The Ariza deal is overrated because he’s just another quick fix before Houston tries to get another star in a trade or the next round of free agency.

Ariza is not overrated. In fact, I thought he would have been able to get some team around the league to give him a four-year, $48 million deal, so you can make the argument he’s actually undervalued with the four-year, $32 million contract he signed.

Bottom line: Ariza doesn’t make the Rockets better than they were last year, and people act like he’s upgrade from Parsons. That’s simply not true.