It looks like Trevor Ariza isn't being traded after all. After a whole lot of hoopla over a major three-team trade involving the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies which would have seen Ariza traded to the Wizards, the trade hit a major snag and won't be happening after all.
Reports have emerged that a three-team trade between the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies hit a snag -- and then died -- because of an issue with the Suns and Grizzlies' side of the deal. The Grizzlies thought they were sending MarShon Brooks to the Suns, but the Suns thought they were receiving Dillon Brooks.
Here is the original tweet of the trade, via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
As part of a three-team deal nearing completion: Ariza to the Wizards, Kelly Oubre to the Memphis Grizzlies and Austin Rivers and two Grizzlies role players to Suns, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/1EmRCHrjOP
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 15, 2018
It then followed with this tweet from Woj, where he clarifies which two Grizzlies role players are heading to the Suns.
Washington, Phoenix and Memphis have agreed in principle on deal that will also include Wayne Selden and Dillon Brooks headed to Suns, and a 2020 Grizzlies second-round pick and a conditional 2019 second-rounder to Washington, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 15, 2018
But then Woj seems confused himself (as the Suns were) as he clarifies that it's MarShon Brooks -- not DIllon -- that's headed to the Suns.
Clarification: MarShon Brooks on his way to Suns, not Dillon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 15, 2018
But wait, the Grizzlies thought they were sending Dillon -- and not MarShon -- to the Suns. Therefore, the trade has now hit a dead end because the Grizzlies don't want to send MarShon and the Suns want MarShon -- not Dillon.
Deal's suddenly in peril. Memphis and Phoenix didn't communicate directly on trade, using Washington as a conduit in coordinating the 3-team deal, sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me. Grizzlies believe they were trading MarShon, but somehow Suns believed it was Dillon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 15, 2018
If you're lost in all of this, i don't blame you. To summarize what happened: Ariza, Kelly Oubre, and Austin Rivers were not traded, all because of a miscommunication between the Suns and the Grizzlies. Because both teams were using the Wizards as a conduit to discuss the trade, the Grizzlies believed they were trading Dillon Brooks while the Suns thought they were acquiring MarShon Brooks.
MarShon Brooks is averaging 7.1 points per game this season and is a career 8.1 point-per-game scorer, but the 29-year-old had spent three seasons away from the NBA and was a late-season callup last year. On the other hand, 22-year-old Dillon Brooks is averaging 6.8 points per game, though he's out with a knee injury, and he has averaged 10.5 points per game over the course of his two-year career.
Because of the miscommunication between the organizations, this important trade is not happening. Meanwhile, the Wizards were playing in Brooklyn on Saturday, and as CBS Sports' James Herbert reported, Oubre and Rivers left the arena thinking they'd been traded. The Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension). That should be ... interesting!
At least one player was happy about the result, though:
😅 #GoGrizz
— Dillon Brooks (@dillonbrooks24) December 15, 2018
As silly as that sounds -- and it is as ridiculous as it gets -- the embarrassment is on none other than the executives leading these franchises. For something that seemed to be a done deal -- only for it to not go through because highly-paid executives at the highest possible profession can't properly communicate details of a trade -- fall through in the span of less than an hour over a disagreement over two bit role players is something that feels like straight out of a reality TV show.
Congrats to the Suns, Grizzlies and Wizards for all making the league look like a joke for one night.
