NBA Rumors: Ariza Explains Why He Dreaded Trade To Lakers In 2007

Trevor Ariza made his mark being part of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2007 to 2009. However, it was not revealed until recently that the 34-year-old actually dreaded the idea of joining the purple and gold at that time. And his reason was that he would not be getting proper playing time since he had to jockey with Metta World Peace and Lamar Odom.

Ariza made the revelation on the "Knuckleheads" podcast, which is hosted by former NBA players Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson. He mentioned how he was initially happy of being traded to Los Angeles only that he was expecting to land with the Los Angeles Clippers. Ariza was traded by the Orlando Magic to the Lakers in exchange for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans in November 2007.

"First, I am going back home to my momma! It was kinda.. weird. I didn't really want to play for the Lakers, I wanted to play for the Clippers. That is what I told the GM, at the time," Ariza said on the podcast.

To his surprise, Ariza got decent playing time with the Lakers. In 24 games, where he started in three of them), he averaged 18 minutes per outing. It was far better than what the Magic gave him -- 10.5 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com. Aside from that, he also delivered helpful numbers. Ariza averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He also had a good field goal (52.4%) and three-point (33.3%) shooting clip.

Contrary to his initial expectations, Ariza blossomed alongside Peace, Odom and Kobe Bryant. He got the respect of the Black Mamba as well. But the sweetest part of that is undoubtedly winning the NBA title in 2009. He played a key role in the playoffs and these accomplishments contributed to molding him into the player that he is today.

He would become a journeyman after that NBA title and figured prominently for other teams. That includes stops with the Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets and the Washington Wizards.

Ariza was a player targeted by multiple teams before the NBA trade deadline last February. The Lakers were mentioned as one of those teams but the one-time NBA champion ended up joining the Portland Trail Blazers where he is logging heavy minutes (33.4 mpg). Unfortunately, he now finds himself in waiting as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to paralyze the whole world.