After initial deal fell through, Suns trading Trevor Ariza to Wizards for Austin Rivers, Kelly Oubre

After initial deal fell through, Suns trading Trevor Ariza to Wizards for Austin Rivers, Kelly Oubre


Jeff Zillgitt


USA TODAY

Published 12:21 PM EST Dec 15, 2018

After confusion about which Brooks from Memphis – Dillon or MarShon – would be traded led to a three-team deal with Washington and Phoenix falling apart late Friday, the Suns and Wizards on Saturday agreed to a trade that will send Trevor Ariza to Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers to Phoenix, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY.

They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal until it is official. The two teams have a trade call scheduled for the league office.

Ariza to the Wizards was the focal point of the deal that took shape on Friday. Oubre was headed to Memphis and Rivers was headed to the Suns, and Memphis planned to send two players to Phoenix. However, there was confusion over which Brooks would be included in the deal.

Phoenix thought it was Dillon Brooks, a promising second-year role player, but Memphis has no interest in trading Dillon Brooks. Memphis was willing to trade MarShon Brooks who first joined the league in 2011 and has played for six teams and spent time in playing professionally in Italy and China.

However, Phoenix didn’t want to acquire MarShon Brooks, and the deal fell apart.

Late Friday, Memphis general manager Chris Wallace told ESPN that he never discussed trading Dillon Brooks with Washington. So, somewhere in talks between Washington and Phoenix, there was miscommunication or misunderstanding of which Brooks was involved.

The confusion created anxiety for the teams and players involved, and other team executives either took glee in the mess or were relived they weren’t part of the fiasco.

Ariza was a sought-after wing in the trade market. He left Houston for Phoenix in free agency, signing a one-year $15 million deal, but he wasn’t part of the Suns’ long-term plans, especially amid a losing season. The Los Angeles Lakers were interested in Ariza, but The Athletic reported Suns owner Robert Sarver did not want to make a deal with the Lakers.

Ariza played for Washington in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and is the kind of three-pointer shooter and defender several teams, including the Wizards, covet.