Trevor Ariza told the Wizards last night that he will exercise his $7,727,280 player option for next season to remain with the team, a source tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Lee reported back in April that Ariza and Emeka Okafor both intended to exercise their options for the coming season, so today's news comes as no surprise.
Ariza came to the Wizards in a trade from the Pelicans that became official almost exactly a year ago. The veteran small forward averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season, and would have been hard-pressed to find an annual salary equal to the value of his option on the open market.
The move, when official, will give the Wizards about $42.5MM in commitments for next season. Okafor's option, worth $14,487,500, would eat up most of the rest of the team's cap room.