Trevor Ariza has agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract with the Houston Rockets. Ariza, who spent the last two seasons with the Washington Wizards, played with Houston in the 2009-10 NBA season.
Both the Rockets and the Wizards offered Ariza a four-year, $32 million deal, but he decided to return to the Lone Star state instead of remaining in the nation’s capital, reports The Washington Post.
With the Wizards, Ariza was the veteran presence in the locker room to an up-and-coming team that went to the second round of the playoffs in 2014.
With the Rockets, he gets to team up with James Harden and Dwight Howard. This team has high aspirations of a championship in the competitive Western Conference.
The Rockets get Ariza despite losing out on Chris Bosh, who decided to return to the Miami Heat, according to The Celebrity Cafe.
With Ariza in hand, the Rockets can now turn their attention to Chandler Parsons, a restricted free agent who signed an offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks. Houston has until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday to match the three-year, $46 million offer.
The Rockets went 54-28 last season and fell to the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the playoffs.