After a bounce back season with the Washington Wizards, Trevor Ariza is exiting the nation’s capital.

Despite having mutual interest in rejoining the Wizards, Trevor Ariza has opted to join the Houston Rockets. The deal is reportedly for 4-years/$32 million.

The Houston Rockets have agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with Trevor Ariza, @USATODAYsports has learned. — Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 12, 2014

There were earlier reports that suggested Trevor Ariza was seeking a deal worth more than $10 million, but he will only get $8 million from the Rockets, which is just a slight raise from his previous contract. Washington did not want to exceed $9 million per season for Trevor Ariza, so it’s a bit surprising that he decided to leave Washington for a similar deal that they could’ve offered.

Now that Trevor Ariza is gone, the Washington Wizards will likely pursue Luol Deng or another veteran small forward. They were supposedly interested in Caron Butler and Marvin Williams, who are both still available.

Washington will also expect Otto Porter to play a much bigger role next season, especially since Martell Webster will be out at least 3-5 months following back surgery.

I’m honestly very surprised that Trevor Ariza decided to leave Washington. He helped push them to the semi-finals in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and built chemistry with the team over the past two seasons. Trevor Ariza lost his starting spot during the 2012-2013 NBA season to Martell Webster, but regained the spot this past season and had one of the best year’s of his career.

So, Trevor Ariza’s time with the Wizards is over. He was a class act and will certainly have the support of the Washington fan base.