Trevor Ariza, Fortunate Three Times Over

The next morning, Monta Ellis said goodbye to Goodwin and headed to the airport to meet up with the team. They were leaving for their next road game.

Goodwin also began preparing for that night's back-to-back game. They would host the Washington Wizards at home.

The Washington Wizards also had a player who had come out of the Boston Celtics—Trevor Ariza.

During this offseason, the Washington Wizards sent Rashard Lewis and a draft pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for center Emeka Okafor and small forward Trevor Ariza.

Since leaving the Boston Celtics, Trevor Ariza had gone to the Los Angeles Lakers, then the Houston Rockets, and now the Washington Wizards. He had enjoyed a brief period of glory along the way, but had gradually declined.

Last season with the Houston Rockets, he averaged only 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals, while shooting just 41.6% from the field.

His performance made the team realize that he was not the kind of player who could serve as the core of a starting lineup, and they had lost patience with him as well.

So when Trevor Ariza returned to the familiar arena and saw his former boss, he threw himself into Goodwin's arms "crying" like a wronged child.

Goodwin could not help but comfort him. There was nothing to be done about it—after all, you could not have both the fish and the bear's paw.

They could have stayed with the Boston Celtics for the rest of their lives, but the Celtics could not offer them particularly high salaries. At the end of the day, everyone had to make a living and support their families.

And people here did not really have a habit of saving money. They generally spent lavishly, so in their minds, all they could