The Rockets traded Trevor Ariza on Wednesday and Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle speculates that the move might be setting up a much bigger trade.

"The Rockets' brass will say how much they like him, blah, blah, blah, but initially Lee's biggest contribution to the team will be his salary, not his play," Solomon writes.

"Rockets general manager Daryl Morey traded a pawn for a pawn, but one pawn cost some $5 million more than the other, earning the Rockets a valuable $6.3 million trade exception.

"The flexibility that offers and the mega savings to Leslie Alexander's bank account (about $10 million in salary and luxury tax) made this a pretty sweet deal."