Trevor Ariza up to challenge of teaching the Suns how to win

PHOENIX — A Facetime call got the ball rolling, leading free agent Trevor Ariza to trade in the best for the worst.

The former Houston Rockets forward took a call from the Phoenix Suns at 9:01 p.m. on June 30. Thirty-nine minutes later, Yahoo! Sports’ Shams Charania was first to report that Ariza had agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with Phoenix.

His free agency didn’t last an hour despite what Charania reported three days earlier: Ariza initially planned to schedule meetings with suitors after free agency opened on July 1.

Instead, Ariza reacted quickly, putting the league-best Rockets, who won 65 games in 2017-18, in the rearview mirror to join the Suns, who won a league-worst 21 games.

“As human beings, we all want to feel appreciated and wanted, and when a team just shows that much appreciation in what you do, naturally you are just attracted to something like that,” the 33-year-old said at his introductory press conference Friday, just as his deal became official. “I’ve been in this situation where the team struggled the year before, struggled my first year there and we turned it around.

“I know that coming here is going to be a challenge of trying to improve and get better — and teaching — but I’m up to the challenge. I’m looking forward to it.”

Suns vice president of basketball operations James Jones said the team approached free agency looking to add “competitiveness and experience.”

Yet, maybe it was a twist of fate that first led Phoenix to target Ariza. His name came up as the Suns searched for their new head coach.

When Ariza and the Rockets began their Western Conference semifinals series against the Utah Jazz in early May, Jones and general manager Ryan McDonough visited Houston to interview then-Jazz assistant and now-head coach for the Suns, Igor Kokoskov.

“Over the course of a two- or three-hour interview, we talked about a number of topics,” McDonough said. “We said, ‘Look at our roster. Who do you think the best fit would be?’

“I swear the first word(s) out of his mouth was ‘Trevor Ariza.’ Igor had great respect for Trevor and thought he’d be a great fit for our group.”

A switchable small-ball power forward, Ariza averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.6 assists per game last season. At 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, he will likely start for Phoenix in front of a young group of forwards.

Ariza will be charged with directing the defense and stretching the floor on offense thanks to his 37 percent three-point shooting.

“This game is a game of winning plays and he makes a lot of them,” Jones added.

More than that, the Suns hope playing with Ariza rubs off on his younger teammates.

“In order to be a great team, you have to be selfless. You have to be a real-life dog to come out here and compete every night. In order to get better, you got to give to your team,” Ariza said. “When you give to your team everybody sees it, everybody feels it, and it makes the next person next to you want to give for you and give you everything. That’s what I’m about.”

Playing with the Knicks, Magic, Lakers, Hornets, Wizards and Rockets throughout his 14-year career, Ariza has played alongside former Suns Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Quentin Richardson, who he listed among his mentors. That list also includes Kobe Bryant and one of his best friends, Keyon Dooling.

After playing with future Hall of Famers like Bryant, James Harden and Chris Paul, Ariza believes in Suns star Devin Booker, who is expected to sign a contract extension in the near future.

“I get to see another extremely talented player grow,” Ariza said of Booker.

“They’re a young team with a lot of talent that don’t know how to win yet,” Ariza added of the Suns. “When you have a talented team, a team that wants to win, a team that wants to get better, it’s nothing better than to be a part of that, be a part of something that’s trying to turn around and to reach goals that not a lot of us reach.”

EXPECTATIONS AHEAD

The addition of Ariza alone doesn’t look like it’d move the needle for the Suns but internal expectations unsurprisingly haven’t changed.

Phoenix wants to taste the postseason.

“Others can judge whether that’s realistic or not. We think it is,” McDonough said. “That’s what we’re going to strive for. I think at a higher level our goal is — or a different level — is to be the most improved team in the league.

“I think and hope this move signifies not only our interest in Trevor and how serious we were in pursuing him … maybe this is the first (veteran free agent signing) or the first significant one, at least in the recent term, but we think and we hope not the last one.”

McDonough added signing additional veteran free agents could likely come next year, when the contracts of Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley come off the books and — the Suns hope — the team takes a big step forward with its young core in 2018-19.

BOOKER’S EXTENSION

The Suns and Booker are near an agreement on a max contract extension, and 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reported Thursday night it could be signed by the end of the weekend.

“We’ve had good conversations with Devin and his representatives,” McDonough said Friday. “We’ve been in touch with them daily and will continue to be in touch with them over the weekend.”

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