Howard Beck reports in The New York Times:
Losing Ariza is only one reason why the Francis trade — made at Brown’s behest — could be regarded as Thomas’s worst deal. Consider the domino effect: After trading Ariza, the Knicks were desperate for an athletic small forward. So they drafted Renaldo Balkman with the 20th pick last June and passed on the gifted point guard Marcus Williams. The stated reason? Because they already had too many guards, a glut created when they acquired Francis. The Knicks later spent $30 million to sign small forward Jared Jeffries, who has been a bust.
Thomas certainly would have made different decisions last summer if Ariza, and not Francis, were on the roster.
Before spraining a knee ligament, Ariza was averaging 8.6 points with a .532 shooting percentage, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.3 assists, playing only 23 minutes a game for Orlando. He scored in double figures in eight straight games from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5.
A rangy 6 feet 8 inches, Ariza can defend four positions, and the Magic often assigns him to the opponent’s best player. With a nose for the ball and great leaping ability, he is a superior offensive rebounder and nicely complements Dwight Howard, the Magic’s gifted young center.
“When he’s on the floor with Dwight, their offensive rebounding is crazy,” Smith said.
Ariza has always thrived in the open court, but with a reliable jumper, “He’s going to be scary,” Smith said.
