The Washington Wizards have traded forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Austin Rivers to the Phoenix Suns for veteran forward Trevor Ariza, according to multiple media reports Saturday.
The #Wizards are trading Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers to the Phoenix Suns for Trevor Ariza, per @ShamsCharania and @wojespn.
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan)
December 15, 2018 The Wizards had agreed to in principle to a deal on Friday to reacquire Ariza, but the three-team trade collapsed just over an hour after news of the trade was leaked.
Ariza, an NBA nomad has been with seven teams in his 15-year career, previously played two seasons in Washington from 2012-2014.
No coincidence that the Wizards played some of their best basketball in the Wall-Beal era in 2013-14, when Ariza started 77 games, and Washington reached the second round before falling to Indiana. His individual/help defense that season was outstanding.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc)
December 15, 2018 However, it isn't immediately clear how the 33-year-old Ariza can help the struggling Wizards.
I’m not super sure how much this actually helps the Wizards unless they felt like they just needed to get Rivers and Oubre out and get Ariza (great locker room rep) in.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie)
December 15, 2018 After reports of the three-team deal Friday, Oubre and Rivers spoke to the media following the Wizards' defeat in Brooklyn.
-- SOUND UPKelly Oubre and Austin Rivers reacted in real time to reports they had been traded -- before the 3-team deal ultimately fell apart. pic.twitter.com/mqJzzptO4Q
— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards)
December 15, 2018 “This kind of hit me as a surprise,” Rivers told reporters. “We got 54 games left. I thought we had some more time to get this going together, but you know, they want to go in a different direction, apparently."
