Kobe Bryant's Teammate On 2009 NBA Championship Team Is Still A Free Agent
On August 8, Trevor Ariza still remains a free agent for any team in the NBA to sign.
The NBA veteran has played for ten different teams over his 18 years in the NBA.
Over the last two seasons, he has played for the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.
This past season with the Lakers, he averaged 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest.
He started in 11 games, but only played in 24 total games on the season.
In 2021 with the Heat, he started in 27 games, but only played 30 games on the season.
At 37-years-old, he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but he could still be a very valuable veteran for a multitude of teams around the league.
In 2009, Ariza was on the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, and he helped them win the NBA Championship over Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
He was a key member of that team playing in all 82 regular season games, and averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
In the playoffs that season, he averaged 11.3 points per game on nearly 48% shooting from the three-point range.
He was a very big reason why they were able to make that run.
Right now, a young team could use him as a veteran to help establish a culture in the locker room, or a contender could use him for depth in the playoffs.