NBA Rumor: Austin Rivers Trade
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Trevor Ariza a Wizard again
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.”
The Wizards have acquired Trevor Ariza from the Suns for Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre, The Athletic has confirmed. After a day of cycling through different versions of the same deal, bringing in and cutting out the Grizzlies and experiencing a trade snafu only possible in the 21st century, the Wizards acquired their target. They wanted Ariza. They now have him. … The Wizards made this deal for two reasons: The locker room and the basketball court. The effect on payroll is minimal.
Rivers mightily struggled during his 29 games with the Wizards. Meanwhile, there was nearly no realistic chance Oubre was returning to D.C. after this season, according to sources. The Wizards created their own suboptimal situation on the latter. They couldn’t afford to pay Oubre, a restricted free agent after this season, because of the $107.9 million on the books next season just for their four most expensive players — Wall, Beal, Porter and Ian Mahinmi, who is no longer in the rotation. Filling out the rest of their roster and re-signing someone who could earn eight figures annually on his next deal could drive them into tax territory. Paying so much in consecutive seasons for a losing team wasn’t an option.
There were and are other teams interested in Oubre. In fact, once the initial form of this deal fell apart Friday night, other organizations reached out to Washington to see if they could snag Oubre. Some tried to become the third team in an Ariza deal. Versions of a larger multi-team trade floated out there, according to sources. The Wizards held true to working out a one-on-one deal with Phoenix.
Crawford chose not to comment on the reported trade, but he will be a familiar face for Rivers, who was coming off a career season in his final season with Los Angeles before joining the Wizards this season. “It’s too fresh for me to digest,” Crawford said after Saturday’s shootaround. “There are players involved that I know. It’s too fresh.”
After a three-team trade crumbled in spectacular fashion hours earlier, the Washington Wizards resurrected a deal to acquire Phoenix Suns forward Trevor Ariza, league sources told ESPN. The Wizards are sending forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Austin Rivers to the Suns in the deal, league sources said.
Once that deal fell apart, the Suns re-engaged with the Los Angeles Lakers on trade talks for Ariza, league sources said. Suns owner Robert Sarver and interim general manager James Jones were working with Ariza’s agent, Aaron Mintz, on brokering a deal with the Lakers, but it never materialized. The Lakers were unwilling to include one of their core young players in the trade, and the Suns ultimately moved back to complete a deal with the Wizards.
Shams Charania: Trade call to complete deal with the NBA: Monday.
After an initial three-team trade was scrapped Friday night, the Phoenix Suns have agreed to trade Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards, league sources told ESPN. Sources said the Wizards are sending Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Suns. A trade call is set for Saturday, sources said.
John Gambadoro: Suns sending Ariza to Washington for Oubre and Rivers. Darren Wolfson: #Twolves were not involved in 3rd team talks that fell apart. As we approach Feb. 7, Tolliver is worth watching. Enough teams are monitoring his situation here, including the Lakers who tried for Ariza. No Taj tonight, so maybe AT finally gets some run again.Darren Wolfson agregado,
Bobby Marks: All three players, Trevor Ariza ($15M), Austin Rivers ($12.65M) and Kelly Oubre Jr. ($3.3M) are on expiring contracts. Oubre Jr. will be a restricted free agent and the Suns will have the right to tender the forward a $4.5M qualifying offer. The Wizards will create a $3.3M trade exception to go along with a $5.45M, $1.3M, $957K and $694K exception. The Washington tax bill will drop from $9.8M to $8.3M but will likely increase based on the team now falling below the minimum roster requirement of 14.
Chris Miller: Confirming @Washington Wizards have traded @Kelly Oubre @Austin Rivers to @Phoenix Suns for @Trevor Ariza. First reported by @Adrian Wojnarowski #DCFamily
A three-team deal that would have sent Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards and Kelly Oubre to the Memphis Grizzlies is dead over which Brooks — MarShon or Dillon — the Phoenix Suns had believed they were getting, league sources said. The Grizzlies and Suns didn’t communicate directly on the trade, using Washington as a conduit in coordinating the three-team deal, sources told ESPN.
The Grizzlies believed they were trading MarShon Brooks to Phoenix, but the Suns believed it was Dillon. But Memphis would not put Dillon Brooks in the trade, sources said, leading to the agreement being called off.
Karl-Anthony Towns: You can’t make this up 😂 #BrooksChronicles
Adrian Wojnarowski: The deal is dead, league source tells ESPN.
Candace Buckner: Ok who knows what’s happening but abt 30 mins ago Austin Rivers thought he was traded & said this: “This kind of hit me as a surprise. We got 54 gms 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.”
Chris Herrington: Grizzlies trade is not complete yet.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Deal is expected to include second-round draft compensation too, league sources said.
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired guard Austin Rivers from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for center Marcin Gortat.
“Acquiring Austin gives us another versatile, experienced player who provides scoring and playmaking,” said Grunfeld. “He is coming off a career year and his ability to create offense for himself and others will help our second unit and allow us to play a variety of lineups throughout the season.”
The LA Clippers ended the first-father-son coach-player relationship in NBA history on Tuesday, trading guard Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards for center Marcin Gortat, league sources said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Los Angeles Clippers are trading guard Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards for center Marcin Gortat, league sources tell ESPN.
Sam Amick: Confirming Clippers trade Austin Rivers to Washington for Marcin Gortat. There were some who thought a day like this would never come so long as Doc was still there. ESPN first reported.
They Clippers have called about almost every available small forward type, but no one is in a rush to take Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and a distant first-round pick. That won’t get them Wilson Chandler, and the Wiz threw their phones on the floor when the Clippers inquired about Otto Porter, per league sources.
Los Angeles Clippers president and coach Doc Rivers says he is willing to trade whomever it takes to improve his team’s position to win. And that includes his son, backup point guard Austin Rivers. “That’s my job,” Rivers said Friday in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
Jackson pursued Rivers as a free agent in the summer but was outbid. Rivers is the son of Clippers coach/general manager Doc Rivers, making such a maneuver complicated. The Knicks had some interest in Crawford as a free agent as he fits Jackson’s profile as a big guard.
A Clippers deal for Anthony would likely include one or even two players from the group of Jamal Crawford, JJ Redick or Austin Rivers, who is the son of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.
January 26, 2021 | 2:01 am EST Update
Nets hoping for Andre Drummond buyout?
Meanwhile, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported on a podcast with Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate, that the Nets have their eyes on Drummond who’s playing on an expiring $28.7 million contract. ”People around the league say the Nets are hoping that Andre Drummond, the Cavs center, gets bought out. That’s what people say they’re hoping for but that’s unlikely because Cleveland is still in it,” referring to the playoff hunt.
John Wall: 'They thought I was done'
“I just wish I would have known up front and not have to beat around the bush to figure things out. That’s just my motivation there. They thought I was done. Basically, that’s how I feel. This is my opportunity to show them that I’m not done. But the most important thing for me is get the win. I don’t care how many numbers I have, it’s about getting the win. That’s the most important thing because if I get 40 and then we lose, the trade don’t look as bad from their aspect because they beat us that one game they did play us. So, my ultimate goal is to try to get a win for my team tomorrow.”
Well, that’s going to be hard to imagine once you hear his extended thoughts on playing the Wizards on Tuesday, which he shared with NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller. Now with the Rockets, Wall admitted facing the Wizards is personal after how his exit was handled, and that he is out for revenge. “Just seeing everybody that’s over there, a lot of people that’s on that side that probably didn’t believe I could come back to be the person I am. And probably some people that had a little say so into me being traded,” Wall told Miller. “I feel like it was a whole process and it wasn’t just something that happened overnight. I think this was in the works. That’s my motivation. Who wouldn’t want to beat the team that traded them and felt like I was done?”
“Most importantly, all I really wanted from the start of all of it was just to be told the truth. That’s the most important thing and what made it so hard for me to understand what was going on because I wasn’t told the truth. I understand it’s a business and things go on and people move on and you get traded, organizations in different ways. When I heard the rumors, I called and asked are these true or are these something not to worry about? From that day forward, all I heard was ‘no, those rumors aren’t true, don’t worry about it.’ In all reality, it was true,” Wall said.
“Outside of James [Harden] not showing up to training camp and not wanting to be here, everything else was amazing,” Wall told NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller. “The most important thing is we couldn’t control what he wanted to do and at the same time as an organization, you’ve gotta understand they wanna handle it the way they wanna handle it.”
“He’s always happy. I’ve never seen LeBron mad — he’s always happy,” Davis told CBS Sports. “But on the flipside, he’s so determined and hard-working for basketball. So it’s a balance, and you’ve got to find a balance.”
