NBA Trade Grades: Suns sending Trevor Ariza to Wizards

Phoenix Suns

Believe it or not, the Phoenix Suns may have won a trade without a full-time general manager in place!

With Ariza looking completely disinterested and the team floundering, it was only a matter of time before the 15-year veteran was either dealt or bought out. That time came at the earliest possible point when Dec. 15 arrived and Ariza was eligible to be traded.

There’s something to be said about sunk costs, with that $15 million contract for Ariza looking more and more like a blunder with each passing day.

On the other hand, the Suns were able to flip him for an intriguing 23-year-old in Kelly Oubre Jr., and padded their depth with Austin Rivers. Both are expiring contracts, which complicates their value, but also allows the team to cut ties if they don’t work out.

Oubre’s restricted free agency is an issue, but Phoenix has time to evaluate his fit before then. He’s currently averaging a career-best 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and could be another secondary ball-handler and multi-positional defender for head coach Igor Kokoskov’s system.

However, he’s not an effective 3-point shooter, converting just 31.1 percent of his 4.6 attempts per game this year. He shot a career-best 34.1 percent from 3 last season, but has so far been unable to build on that area of his game. A working project like Oubre only adds to a confusing Phoenix wing rotation that already includes Devin Booker and T.J. Warren, not to mention fellow projects in Josh Jackson and promising rookie Mikal Bridges.

Turning Ariza into a flier like Oubre is a worthwhile one, but the Suns still have not addressed their point guard situation and there has to be some disappointment in their inability to do so with such an obvious trade asset being dangled in front of the rest of the league.

There’s a chance the Suns could flip Oubre into such a player, especially if they don’t see him as part of their long-term plans or are hesitant to invest in the price tag he’ll fetch in free agency, but until such a deal materializes, Phoenix’s biggest positional need remains.

This year, Rivers is averaging 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.6 minutes per game. Unfortunately, he’s only shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from 3, so shipping out Ariza’s 3-point shooting in exchange for two incapable floor-spacers is less than ideal.

Rivers is a decent bench player, but he’s not a starting NBA point guard. In fact, he’s not a point guard at all. If the Suns continue to start De’Anthony Melton at the point, this trade bolsters a bench that ranks dead last in point differential.

If they start Rivers over Melton, the move loses some of its luster, even if he averaged a career-high 15.1 points and 4.0 assists per game on .424/.378/.642 shooting splits last year in 59 starts for the Los Angeles Clippers. However, that was while playing for his father Doc Rivers and a competent organization with established NBA players. Phoenix can’t offer much of that.

All in all, the Suns did well to turn a 33-year-old Ariza into a 23-year-old Oubre, even if it turns out he doesn’t have a place in the rebuild. It’s worth a shot in another lost season, and Rivers can help whether he’s coming off the bench or starting — just don’t expect him to flourish if he’s once again pigeonholed as a lead ball-handler or facilitator, which is not his game.

There are worthwhile questions to be asked about why Phoenix ever signed Ariza in the first place, and this isn’t the best trade package he could’ve fetched since it doesn’t address the 1-spot or provide draft compensation, but it’s a better result than a buyout.

Grade: B-