NBA Free Agency 2018: Most impactful signings of the summer

3. Trevor Ariza, Phoenix Suns & Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Los Angeles Clippers

Ariza and Mbah a Moute will have about as much of an impact on the championship chase for their current teams this year as you or I will. That’s not why they’re up here, one spot above LeBron.

No, these two are here because between the two of them last season, they helped give the Houston Rockets the identity they needed to topple the Goliath that the 2016 cap spike hath wrought. Were it not for a Chris Paul bum hip at the worst possible time, not to mention Mbah a Moute himself being affected by a recurring shoulder injury, the 2017-18 seaon might have ended very, very differently.

While he was fully healthy over the first two months of Houston’s season, the Rockets gave up just 97.4 points per 100 possessions with Luc on the court but 106.0 when he was off — the second largest discrepancy on the team behind Eric Gordon. As for Ariza, it’s no coincidence that he played more postseason minutes than any Rocket except James Harden. His defense against KD in the Conference Finals was more than admirable.

All season long, there was talk of Houston going to a super-switchable lineup featuring Harden, Paul, Tucker and the two wings when it mattered most, but due to Mbah a Moute’s lessened effectiveness, we never saw it in the playoffs (in just 15 regular season minutes together, they murdered opponents. It’s pretty clear that Houston was saving it for you know who. So much for best-laid plans.).

Now, we’ll never see it, and with both gone, there’s a significant chance Houston’s title chances are gone with them.

Just don’t tell this guy…