This deal is shocking to most NBA fans. A lot of people expected Trevor Ariza to sign a short-term deal to try to chase a ring with a team like the Golden State Warriors. The money that the Phoenix Suns offered him was just too much for him to pass up.
Trevor Ariza agrees to one-year, $15M deal with Suns, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/D6HucG8yv2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2018
What Does This Mean For The Teams Involved?
A $15 million deal to sign with a young team is well worth it. I’m sure Ariza is fine with waiting another year to go chase a ring. This is a big loss for the Rockets though. He was a key part of their team success last year. They’re gonna be scrambling to find a quality replacement for him. They’ve re-signed Gerald Green which will help, but they will probably want someone even better than him filling that role.
His defensive presence, along with his three-point shooting, was a very good fit for the Rockets. He was a great compliment to the star guards, James Harden and Chris Paul. They have a good enough system, but they’ll need somebody to step into this role.
From The Suns side of things, this signing is a no-brainer. They get a really good veteran wing player to go with this young roster they have. Some people would try and complain that this is too much money, but they had money to spend so they did.
This signing just means that they didn’t have much of a chance at signing one of the young stars on the market. They instead spent a lot of money to get a good veteran, and will still have a little bit of money left to spend if they choose to.
Credit: Chris Kern
