Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
If he fits in well (which I think he will) it's all over for other teams. If Ariza finds a way to come back, goodbye all other teams. Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
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Ron Artest is in. Trevor Ariza, it appears, is out. And the strong gets even stronger. The Los Angeles Lakers have made a significant splash in the free agent waters, inking Artest to a short-term deal for slightly above the mid-level exception. The move likely means Ariza, an unrestricted free agent, signs elsewhere ...
 Breaking news mixed with analysis …
Their News: “ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reports that Artest and the Lakers have reached a verbal agreement on what is believed to be a three-year contract worth an estimated $18 million. Wednesday is the first day free agents are permitted to sign new deals.” ESPN.com Our Very Quick Analysis: Ron Artest is in. Trevor Ariza, it appears, is out. And the strong gets even stronger. The world champion Los Angeles Lakers have made a significant splash in the free agent waters, inking Artest to a short-term deal for slightly above the mid-level exception. The move likely means Ariza, an unrestricted free agent, signs elsewhere. So, are the Lakers better with Artest instead of Ariza? Simply put, yes. The purple-and-gold is getting an All-Star calibre player at a cap friendly number and term. When focused, Artest has the versatility to dominate both ends of the court. On defense, his strength frustrates opposing swings. Offensively, he can average 15-20 points on three-pointers, drives, put-backs, and post-ups. And collectively, Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Phil Jackson will keep ‘Ron-Ron’ on track. Artest’s inexpensive and short contract gives GM Mitch Kupchak the cap room to work his magic. For instance, the Lakers now have a chance at re-signing super-sub Lamar Odom and back-up table-setter Shannon Brown, while retaining flexibility for future years. Ariza’s reported demands of a bigger-ticket and longer-term would make such moves impossible. Getting Artest on the cheap positions the Lakers to keep other parts and provides the best chance at defending their NBA Title.
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
Hi Steve, Yeah, Artest in L.A. is scary. However, every report we are getting, says that Ariza is likely gone ... CLE, Por and Tor are his best options, and L.A. will get after Odom. I think this works. Lamar is a superb player with great versatility. Should be interesting. Thanks for commenting. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
Artest is a thug, enough said. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
To get Ron Artest for 18 million is a brilliant move by Kupchack and Dr.Buss.Artest is a All-Star caliber player that can do everything that Ariza did and give you 15 to 20 points a game, report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
SHIIIT!! FISHER , KOBE, ARTEST/ODOM, GASOL, BYNUM, NOW THATS A SCARY LINEUP!! report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
who's gonna shut the mouth of Ron Artest when things are not goin' his way when his in LA? i have Phil in mind but Kobe? we'll see. i think the "trade" ( i hate to say it as a free agent signing) is a fair deal for both teams. the Lakers' goal is for another ring or two not, minding about the present than the future while Trevor's looking a long-term security on his career and money. it was a fair deal. really. It was a no-brainer for the Rockets to acquire trevor asap when Ron decided to go with LA. Trevor was the only sort of a "ron-type" in the market. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
not, minding about the present than the future - "i meant not minding" report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
its too early to say that if Artest makes it to lakers,they scary, dont know what else is going on around the league. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
Great move by laker's front office to get Ron Artest! Great defender, scorer, and rebounder all in one. Also makes the lakers even bigger and definitely makes the defense better! report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
i don't like it. ariza was an absotively vital key to the lakers' title run. he was a good guy who played his role perfectly, and without complaint. yeah, artest is more accomplished, but i'd rather have the guy i know i can win with (because i just did) and not even take the risk of artest going section 8. furthermore, this isn't some rotisserie league where you just add up stats, which means think twice about automatically pencilling in artest for 15-20/gm. gasol couldn't get shots in the finals because kobe was going to shoot 30 times a game whether he had good shots or not. adding another scorer just exacerbates that problem. finally, the lakers got a lot older with this move. i know they're trying to win now, but when injuries or some team with young legs runs them off the court, i think they'll wish they'd stayed younger. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
by adding artest LA just got an excellent defender that theyre gonna need to defend their title.his D is more important to them than his scoring. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
A great move by L.A. with Ariza walking. Defensively, we all know his value, and offensively, the star power on the Lakers should hold Artest from taking bad shots like he did for the Rockets last year in the playoffs. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
Great move... Artest and Ariza are not even comparable. Much better defender, and defend all positions basically and so strong in the paint. Not to mention he shot 40% from the 3-Point line this year. He's an easy 15-20 PPG and he's the third option. He won't have the opportunity to take bad shots in the Laker's offense but will benefit from the great looks he's going to get. The Laker's needed this to stay ahead of the game. The Spurs, Celts Cavs, and Magic are going to make this an incredible season for basketball fans. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
This move was almost needed. Had LA only signed Ariza and Odom, they would stay the same. Teams like ORL, CLE, BOS, and SA are upgrading. Artest is a highly underrated player, who only about 3-4 years ago, was questionably the best 2-way player in the game. Ariza apparently got what he wanted in a long term contract in a big market. HOWEVER, I feel like Houston got the raw in of the deal, Ariza is a great role player, but the Rockets need some fire power with T-Mac and Yao questionable to ever be big impact Rockets again. Maybe they are aquiring talent to prepare for a blockbuster deal.... oooo hadn't thought about that. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
why, phil????? ariza, 24 years old compared to artest??? i just hope you guys made the right decision report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
I hope this goes well for my Lakers because Ariza was the perfect fit and im not sure about Artest...I hope he doesn't ruin my team. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
idk about this i think ariza iza better fit for da lakers instead of artest.and i think that artest and kobe might get into it kuz kobe always bosses his teammates around and yells at them wen they do sumthing wrong and artest is not that kinda guy to take that so hes guna say something bak to kobe and its gna start from there.and who knows whats gnahappn if that happens alot. but anyways i think ariza is just more of a laker player then artest kuz of the way he plays. i dont think artest will fit in az gud az ariza did. i highly doubt dat LA will repeat......GO SUNS!!! report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
furealz i cant wait for this year to start kuz of all the big trades and changes im curious to see wats guna work out and wat iznt.the spurs havinstead of a big 3 they gota big 4 now, if da celtics can land rasheed datll b scary, the magic got vc now,shaq and lebron'S cavs, and just everything else dat happend.. CRAZY SEASON AHEAD report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
I like the Ron-Ron deal. Good job by the Laker-show report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
Bring in Ron-Ron to LA is a Perfect Choise for Magic, Phil & Mr. Buss, But The Error for Them are Extended Contract to Mitch K. - This Guy is Bad, Realy Bad in the Management Area and Not Mention in the Scouting Area. In My Opinion 5 more Years of Bad Desitions From this GM is Not Aceptable. report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
If it aint broke dont fix it!!! report abuse
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Artest, not Ariza, positions L.A. Lakers for second NBA Title
noooooooooooooo. please artest just do a good job on defense and leave the offense to kobe do it for the lakers report abuse
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