Trevor Ariza

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On Monday, the Wizards officially acquired forward Trevor Ariza from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Austin Rivers.

Ariza, 33, returns to the nation’s capital after playing two seasons for the Wizards from 2012-2014. The 6’8” forward out of UCLA had the best statistical season of his career with the Wizards in 2013-14, averaging 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6% from the field and a career-high 40.7% from deep.

Known as one of the league’s top ‘3-and-D’ players, Ariza blossomed with the Wizards before playing four seasons with the Rockets and part of this year in Phoenix. This season with the Suns, Ariza is shooting 38.7% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, which can only help a Wizards team shooting 34.4% on catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities. He’s also shooting 40.0% on corner triples this year, something he mastered alongside John Wall during his time with the Wizards. According to Second Spectrum, Klay Thompson is the only player to make more corner 3-pointers than Ariza over the past five seasons.

Presumably adding Ariza to the starting lineup will give the Wizards even more shooting alongside one of the NBA’s best passers in Wall. Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. are already two of the top shooters in the league, and Ariza will give Wall another option.

Ariza became a signature stopper alongside James Harden and later Chris Paul. Ariza can guard multiple positions and is used to switching on defense like the Wizards do. The Rockets were only one game away from the NBA Finals last season, much with the help of Ariza’s lockdown defense and 3-point shooting.

Ariza also won a championship during his time with the Lakers; he knows what it takes to win and compete day in and day out. During his career, Ariza has been a glue guy on and off the court at almost every stop, whether he’s started or come off the bench.

“I think it’s just great,” Wall said of getting Ariza back. “Especially a guy that won a championship. You get more from what he understands and what it takes.”

“With Trevor, he’s a guy that he understands his role. Come in as the glue guy. That’s kind of what you need with these certain teams.”

Ariza will bring veteran leadership to a locker room that has been searching for answers. He has a great relationship with Wall and Beal, serving as a mentor for both of them during his two seasons in Washington. The Wizards have started off slow, but they believe Ariza’s presence will help turn this season around and help the team reach its potential.

“He’s vocal. He’s not afraid to voice his opinion and call guys out,” Beal said of Ariza. “Hold them accountable. I think he’s a presence we needed. A challenge we need as well.”

ariza-returns-to-the-nations-capital

Ariza returns to the nation's capital

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Wizards announced today that they have acquired forward Trevor Ariza from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Austin Rivers.

“Trevor has been one of the most effective, efficient and versatile players at his position for over a decade,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld.  “We are obviously very familiar with the leadership and experience he brings as one of the league’s most respected professionals and look forward to welcoming him back to the team.”

Ariza (6-8, 215) returns to Washington for a second stint with the Wizards.  He averaged 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .393 from three-point range with the team from 2012-2014, helping the team advance to the second round of the playoffs in 2013-14.  The 15-year veteran has averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .353 from three-point range in 968 career games (667 starts) over 15 seasons with Phoenix, Houston, Washington, New Orleans, the L.A. Lakers, Orlando and New York.  He has averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 26 games (all starts) with the Suns this season.

Over the past 10 seasons (entering the 2018-19 season), Ariza had 1,304 three-pointers and 30.5 defensive win shares (estimate of number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense), joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players to post those numbers.  He has also averaged at least 2.0 three-pointers and 1.5 steals in each of the past five seasons (coming into the 2018-19 season), joining Stephen Curry and James Harden as the only players to do so.  Dating back to 2008-09, Ariza has the third-most steals (1,245) in the NBA behind only Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook and he joins Harden and Westbrook as the only players with at least 4,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 800 assists and 600 steals since 2013.

Ariza brings extensive playoff experience to the Wizards, averaging 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting .367 from three-point range in 102 postseason contests (90 starts).  He helped lead the Lakers to the 2009 NBA championship, averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting .476 from three-point range in 23 games (all starts) and helped lead the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals in both 2015 and 2018, starting all 34 games in those combined playoff runs.

Oubre, who was originally acquired in a draft night trade by Washington in 2015, averaged 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 252 games over his Wizards career.  He was averaging 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds through 29 games this season.  Rivers, who was acquired via trade on June 26, 2018, was averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 29 games for the Wizards this season.

“We commend Kelly on the growth and development he showed within our system to become a solid rotation player as well as the work he did in the D.C. community during his time as a Wizard,” said Grunfeld.  “We also appreciate Austin’s contributions during his brief time with us and wish them both the best as they continue their careers.”

Trevor Ariza

Ariza returns to the nation's capital

Wizards acquire Trevor Ariza