Suns trade involving Trevor Ariza falls through due to misunderstanding

A deal involving the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies fell through due to miscommunication between the Suns and Grizzlies, according to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.

In the proposed deal that had the Suns sending Trevor Ariza to Washington, the Suns believed they were receiving forward Dillon Brooks from Memphis while the Grizzlies thought they were trading guard MarShon Brooks to Phoenix.

The widely-reported deal fell through once it was apparent the two different teams were talking about two different players.

With the Suns playing at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, Ariza will be stepping away from the team, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The Suns and Wizards still desire to get a deal done centered around Ariza, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per Gambadoro, the Suns did communicate with the Grizzlies several times regarding Dillon Brooks in the 24 hours prior to the trade collapsing. Because Dillon Brooks was an injured player, the Suns had to have his medical information before the trade call. The Wizards made the trade call with Dillon Brooks involved in the deal heading to Phoenix.

In the trade that fell apart, the Suns were acquiring point guard Austin Rivers from Washington and guard Wayne Selden from Memphis, in addition to what they believed at the time was going to be Dillon Brooks. Washington’s Kelly Oubre, meanwhile, was headed to Memphis.

Gambadoro reports the Wizards, who played earlier on Friday night, were waiting for their game to complete before announcing the deal.

😅 #GoGrizz

— Dillon Brooks (@dillonbrooks24) December 15, 2018

The Athletic’s David Aldridge reports that the trade negotiations reached the level of ownership discussing the deal. Suns owner Robert Sarver and Grizzlies owner Robert Pera talked about the deal, and per Aldridge, Dillon Brooks was the Brooks brought up, not MarShon.

Shortly after reporting that, though, Aldridge received word from Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace that a conversation between Pera and Sarver on the topic of the proposed trade never occurred.

The Suns play Saturday night at home while the Wizards do not play until Sunday. Memphis also plays on Saturday.

Ariza has received heavy interest on the trade market. Gambadoro has reported at least eight teams have shown interest in Ariza.

Because Ariza recently signed a deal this past offseason, he could not be traded until Dec. 15. That deadline passes Friday night.

This season, Ariza has averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 34.0 minutes per game. He started all 26 games he played in.

Ariza signed a one-year deal worth $15 million with the McDonough-led Suns in the offseason and said Phoenix calling him as soon as the negotiating period began meant a lot.

“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,” Ariza said at his introductory press conference on July 6. “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.”

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