Blazers' Ariza reportedly will miss restart to visit son

According to ESPN, Ariza and his son's mother are involved in a "custody case," and the one-month visitation period fell during the 22-team NBA restart, which is set to begin July 30. Ariza, who has started all 21 games with the Trail Blazers after his trade from the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 21, will miss out on at least $1 million in salary by skipping the end of the regular season.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza reportedly will opt out of the NBA's restart in Orlando, Fla., next month in order to make himself available for a one-month visitation window with his 12-year-old son. According to ESPN, Ariza and his son's mother are involved in a "custody case," and the one-month visitation period fell during the 22-team NBA restart, which is set to begin July 30.

Ariza, who has started all 21 games with the Trail Blazers after his trade from the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 21, will miss out on at least $1 million in salary by skipping the end of the regular season. He could miss out on as much as $1.8 million depending on how far Portland advances in the playoffs. At 29-37, the Trail Blazers are 3 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Ninth-place teams that finish within four games of the No. 8 spot in their conference will be eligible for a play-in tournament for the final playoff spot.

Ariza, who will turn 35 on June 30, is his 16th season out of UCLA and has averaged 11 points and 4.8 rebounds since joining the Trail Blazers this season. In 1,064 career games (731 starts), he has averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, then-New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Kings and Blazers.

--Field Level Media