Hornets acquire Ariza in four-team trade

With the team struggling to find role players (and happiness) for All-Star guard Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets announced last Wednesday they had acquired Rockets’ forward Trevor Ariza.

The move occurred in a four-team trade that involved the Hornets, Rockets, Nets and Pacers.

In order to get Ariza, the Hornets had to ship Paul’s backup, Darren Collison, as well as reserve forward James Posey to the Indiana Pacers.

Going to the Rockets in the deal will be Nets’ guard Courtney Lee, and the Nets received Pacers’ forward Troy Murphy.

Ariza averaged 15 points per game last year with the Rockets as the team’s No. 1 scoring option with Yao Ming injured.

But despite career-high scoring numbers, Ariza often struggled in his new role, shooting a career-low 39 percent from the field.

Despite the struggles, Ariza told Yahoo Sports following the deal that Paul called and welcomed him to New Orleans when the deal was announced.

“He was excited,” Ariza told Yahoo Sports. “He said, ‘I’m all about winning. I’ll do everything to win. I’m just more hungry now. Just getting to the playoffs is not good enough for me.'”