Report: Rockets sign Trevor Ariza to four-year, $32 million deal
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It's deja vu for the Houston Rockets and forward Trevor Ariza.
The Houston Rockets have agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with Trevor Ariza, @USATODAYsports has learned.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 12, 2014
Ariza's $32M deal has declining scale: $8.6M, $8.2M, $7.8M, $7.4M, source tells Yahoo. Flexibility for summer '16. @sam_amick reported deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2014
This is the second time the Rockets have signed Ariza, the last time being 2009 when the two parties struck a five-year, $33.5 million deal, which ironically enough, mirrors this current contract.
And of course, Ariza was dealt the next season for a cheaper and younger replacement in Courtney Lee. Ariza then bounced around for a few seasons, often stricken with injuries, before settling down in Washington, where he enjoyed a career year. He averaged 14.4 points. 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last season with the Wizards.
Ariza profiles as a defense-first small-forward who primarily scores off catch-and-shoot scenarios. He is a good three-point shooter, having connected on 40.7 percent of his triples last season.
The confounding part for Houston is that Ariza plays small forward, which happens to be the same position as Chandler Parsons, who signed an offer to play in Dallas next season. The Rockets have less than 24 hours to make a decision on whether or not to match.
This signing leaves the Rockets with roughly $6-8 million in cap room, which should afford them the opportunity to add a few more pieces to a potential championship squad. However, they will need to do so before their clock runs out on Parsons.