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Portland Trail Blazers small forward Trevor Ariza opted out of participating in the NBA restart down in Orlando, Florida. The swingman, who was acquired by the Blazers from the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline, is committing to a one-month visitation window with his young son instead of playing at Disney World.
The Blazers never had an issue with Ariza's decision since they understand family is more important than basketball. However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Portland tried to get Ariza to come to Disney World after the games in Orlando started:
Article Continues Below“A few weeks ago, members of the Trail Blazers tried to persuade Trevor Ariza to reconsider joining them in the bubble, sources told Yahoo Sports. Ariza opted out of the restart due to a one-month visitation window he had long scheduled with his son.
“The possibility was explored, but sources said the Trail Blazers had to have previously applied for a hardship waiver or a late-arrival form for Ariza to be considered for entry into the bubble. Even if those steps were taken, the league would have likely denied the request because Ariza chose to opt out, wasn’t included on the restart roster and didn’t arrive with his team on July 9.
“Players within the organization were upset with the outcome, sources said. Portland added Jaylen Adams to the roster as a replacement player.”
Ariza appeared in 21 games with the Blazers after his trade from the Kings. He averaged 11.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 33.4 minutes per night while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from beyond the arc and 87.2 percent from the free-throw line.
The Blazers are 1-1 so far at Disney World. They defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening seeding game and lost to the Boston Celtics in the second contest. The Blazers enter Tuesday's game against the Houston Rockets in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. They are two games back of the Grizzlies.
