“Was happy for Metta World Peace to win a title with the Lakers in 2010”: Trevor Ariza reveals there is no animosity between himself and the former Pacer forward

Trevor Ariza lets it be known that he does not hold anything against Metta World Peace after the latter won a title with the Lakers in 2009. 

The Los Angeles Lakers brought back a slew of familiar faces during this 2021 NBA offseason to pair alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard, and Trevor Ariza have all played for the purple and gold previously in their careers, with the latter two winning titles with the Lakers in two separate decades. 

Trevor Ariza was a part of the Lakeshow for merely two seasons but his stint with them proved to be fruitful. He provided them with much needed spacing (just as he will be for the 2021 Lakers) and defended at a high level on the perimeter. He shot an incredible 50% from beyond the arc in the 2009 Playoffs while averaging a solid 11.3 points per game.

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Though he did eventually win a ring alongside Kobe Bryant in 2009, he was no match for the team they faced off against in the NBA Finals the year prior: the Boston Celtics. To help combat this, they brought on Metta World Peace, effectively replacing Ariza. 

Trevor Ariza holds no ill will against Metta World Peace. 

The 2009 offseason for the 17x champs saw them at a crossroads with Trevor Arzia. Ariza’s agent at the time was holding the line for his client, asking them for more money than he was worth. Simultaneously, Metta World Peace became available with his value resting at around the MLE. 

Snagging the former Pacer at the mid-level was a steal and so they pulled the trigger on the deal, leaving Trevor to sign a 3 year deal worth $33 million with the Rockets. When talking about his replacement, the former UCLA Bruin admitted to holding no ill will against him.

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“I’m not somebody who hates on nobody. I’m happy for people when they’re doing well. I got an opportunity to do something that a lot of people don’t get to do so, being upset or hating on somebody for doing something great is not my character.” 

“I was happy for Ron Artest actually because he was a person that had been through a lot in his life and his career. For him to come in and be inserted was seamless; I was happy for him.”