NBA Rumors: Suns Trade Trevor Ariza To Wizards For Austin Rivers, Kelly Oubre

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Leading up to Dec. 15, the Los Angeles Lakers were heavily linked to Trevor Ariza, who played for them from the 2007-09 NBA seasons and won one championship.

As the Lakers are 17-11 and just two games back of the first spot in the Western Conference, they are expected to be aggressive leading up to the Feb. 7 trade deadline.

While Ariza reportedly wanted to play for his hometown team again, Suns owner Robert Sarver was ‘adamant’ about not trading him to the Lakers.

As there was confusion between which Brooks the Suns would receive in the original three-team trade, they have eventually traded Ariza to the Wizards, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic:

For the Wizards who are 11-18 and 2.5 games back of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, they desperately needed to make a change. As for the Suns, they were able to get a point guard and a young prospect for a 33-year-old who signed a one-year, $15 million deal.

While Ariza would have been a good fit and solidified the backup four position for head coach Luke Walton, the Lakers have been linked to Wayne Ellington and Terrence Ross. Not only are they strong three-point shooters, but they also have one year remaining on their deals.

Follow:
Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.