Sunday 16 December 2018 08:31, UK
Phoenix Suns have traded Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards for Kelly Oubre Jr and Austin Rivers, according to multiple reports.
The deal capped a confusing series of events that unfolded on Friday night when a proposed three-team trade fell apart over confusion about whether Dillon Brooks or MarShon Brooks would be included.
The trade, as proposed originally, would have sent Ariza from the Suns to the Wizards, Oubre from the Wizards to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Rivers from the Wizards to the Suns.
The Grizzlies would also have sent Wayne Selden to the Suns.
A player named Brooks was also set to be involved, but that ended up as a major hiccup to the deal when the Suns thought the Grizzlies would be sending them Dillon Brooks.
However, Grizzlies officials thought it was MarShon Brooks that they would be trading.
"What happened last night was unfathomable. I've never experienced this before," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said.
When the confusion cleared, and all the sides had figured out the parts to the trade, Memphis would not trade Dillon Brooks, and the Suns did not want MarShon Brooks.
The mix up happened because the Suns and Grizzlies did not talk to each other and the identity of the proper Brooks got lost along the way.
However, the Suns claim they communicated with the Grizzlies directly and were clear about Dillon Brooks, a claim the Grizzlies have since denied.
"That forced me to do something I've never done in 30-plus years working in this league with seven teams, is to drag two players out of a locker room and tell them they've been traded and then eventually have to come back and tell them, 'Oh, no, you haven't been traded'," Wallace said.
The Suns signed 33-year-old Ariza on a one-year, $15m deal over the summer, and with Phoenix at 5-24 and building for the future with youngsters, he became a trade chip.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that the Lakers were trying to acquire Ariza in order to bring a veteran presence to the team, but Suns owner Robert Sarver stopped the trade to Los Angeles.
This will be the second stop in Washington for Ariza, who entered the league in 2004 and also has played for New York, Orlando, the Lakers, Houston and New Orleans.
Ariza has played in 968 games and has averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game during his career.
This season he has averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 16 games.
The 26-year-old Rivers, a 6'4'' guard, is averaging 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 29 games this season.
Oubre, a 23-year-old forward, also played in 29 games for Washington, scoring 12.9 points and adding 4.4 rebounds per contest.
