By Justin Worsley
Chris Paul now has some reassurance that the New Orleans Hornets are seriously trying to build a contending team.
The Hornets along with Indiana, New Jersey and Houston have completed a five-player trade that will bring small forward Tervor Ariza to the Big Easy.
Indiana received James Posey and Darren Collinson from New Orleans. Indiana sent Troy Murphy to New Jersey, who sent Courtney Lee to Houston.
Ariza helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2009 NBA Championship, however, the Lakers let him walk in free agency in favor of fellow free agent Ron Artest. In his only season in Houston, Ariza had a career year, averaging 14.9 points, 0.6 blocks, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, all career highs. It was also the first season that Ariza played primarily as a starter. In the 72 games Ariza played in, he started 71 of them.
Indiana is hoping that journeyman Posey will be able to bring in veteran leadership to the team. Posey has won two NBA championships with Miami and Boston, however, Posey has not been a consistent starter since the 2006 season, when he started 63 games.
In his rookie season, Collinson, 22, average 12.4 points per game while playing mostly off the bench. The Hornets selected Collinson with the 21st overall pick in last year's draft.
The acquisition of Murphy, 30, brings in immediate competition for lottery pick Derrick Favors. Murphy averaged 14.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season.
For Lee, this is his third team in as many seasons. Lee, however, had career-highs in nearly every category after being a consistent starter for the Nets. In Houston, Lee will most likely replace Ariza as well as help the Rockets avoid the luxury-tax. Ariza signed a five-year, $34 million deal in Houston last year. Lee made $1.3 million last season.
Murphy is also entering the final year of his contract, which could potentially make him trade bait for the Nets when the season deadline approaches, depending on how Favors develops.
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