Lakers acquire Ariza

The Lakers acquired forward Trevor Ariza from the Orlando Magic on Tuesday in exchange for reserve forwards Brian Cook and Maurice Evans.
Ariza, a 6-foot-8 native of Westchester who played one season at UCLA, has mostly been a bench player during his three-plus year NBA career with New York and Orlando
Ariza appeared in 11 games for the Magic this season, all off the bench, and averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.5 minutes. Last season, Ariza averaged 8.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.4 minutes.

It's a swap of players looking for more-defined roles.
Cook, the Lakers' first-round pick in 2003, never made much of an impact with the Lakers. At 6-9 he had obvious physical gifts but never played good enough defense to earn the trust of coach Phil Jackson.
Evans, acquired from Detroit in a trade before the 2006-07 season, was supposed to serve as a versatile backup but never found a defined role and had been slowed this season with lower-back pain.
In six games this season, Cook averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes, while Evans, in seven games, averaged 4.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes.
In a press release, Orlando general manager Otis Smith said, ``Trevor is a great talent and we certainly wish him well. ... Brian helps bolster our frontcourt. He is a power forward who shoots the ball extremely well, while also bringing added toughness to our roster. Maurice is a tremendous athlete, a solid defender and capable of playing multiple positions.''