HOUSTON, (Reuters) – The Houston Rockets were the perfect place to help raise his game to another level, forward Trevor Ariza said on Wednesday after signing a multi-year contract with the team.
The 24-year-old, a versatile and athletic forward, agreed terms with Houston last week after deciding to leave the NBA champion Lakers after two seasons in Los Angeles.
“This is a big step for me and I am just thankful to be here,” Ariza said. “I enjoyed my time in LA and I appreciated my fans there but now it’s time to move on and start a new chapter.
“I think this is the best place for me. I think I have more of an opportunity here. This is a great young team that has a lot of potential.
“They’re very, very scrappy and they never give up and that’s the type of player I believe I am,” added Ariza who enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2008-09 by averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in the regular season. “No matter what the situation is, I’m still fighting. That’s the kind of players they have here and I’m happy to be a part of that. I know one thing and that’s that we’re going to play hard every night and we’re going to fight.”
The 6’ 8” (2.02m) forward was one of the hottest prospects on the free agent market after shining for the Lakers in the playoffs when he averaged 11.3 points and shot 47.6 percent from three-point range.
“Anytime you can sign an NBA champion that is 24-years old, I think you’ve got to jump at the chance,” Houston general manager Daryl Morey said.
“And that’s what we did the minute we heard there was a shot that we might be able to woo him from out of the Lakers’ fold.
“Each year in the league Trevor has improved. What he has accomplished at a young age is already impressive and we expect his improvement to continue.”
