Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 2:05 am  |  145 responses

Ron Ron Comes to Hollywood

A shrewd move or precursor to destruction?

by Marcel Mutoni

During the 2009 Playoffs, Ron-Ron spent nearly as much time inside the Staples Center as Jack Nicholson (as both an opposing player and member of the crowd.) Next season, he will make it his permanent home.

Artest told CBS Sports first last night that he will soon be a Los Angeles Laker in a matter of days:

“I’m definitely going to L.A. — to sign, yeah,” Artest said in a phone interview. “Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. I’m in L.A. right now.”

“I don’t really care about the money,” Artest said. “I’ll play there for nothing…L.A. was very interested in me, and they got me.”

Despite the enthusiasm, Ron won’t be playing for nothing. He reportedly agreed to a three-year deal worth approximately $18 million.

So, can Artest fit into the triangle offense, how much defense does he have left in him (especially with Trevor Ariza now being a Rocket), will poor Pau Gasol ever see the basketball again, what about Lamar Odom, and most importantly, can all of those egos on the Laker roster mesh?

I don’t have the answer to any of those questions; all I know is that it’s going to a be a wild ride in L.A.

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  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ RV

    Teddy…i think Ariza is better on the rockets than Ron, without a doubt…I’m not sure what’s up with ron, but he became a jack up shooter here, i guess he always jacked up shots, but he used to take it to the rim and post up more at least, here it was rare. It wouldn’t suprise me if Kobe brought the best out of him, since Ron’s heart skips a beat when he see Kobe…but i definitely would rather have Ariza than in Houston…i’m not too crazy about giving Ariza 5 yrs after one “breakout” season, but we’ll see..

  • boogster

    the reason lakers upgrading ( i`d call it upgrade, Ron will make the team a lot tougher, remember how many times were lakers branded soft) is because every contender in the league started tinkering under the hood, so LA can`t stay same, need to adjust.

  • LexLuther

    RonRon is not an upgrade. Ariza found a role and fit perfectly with what the Lake Show needed. Artest, who cannot guard LeBron James in any sense of the word, isn’t as big an acquisition as Shaq because no matter how old, a motivated, hungry Shaq paired with the most dominant player in the NBA means Championship. Plain and simple.

  • http://www.rich-imaging.com Dutch Rich

    To all dissin Ron for jacking up shots I would say, who on the healthy rockets team where the 3rd and 4th offensive options. So after the main 2 guys went down Ron pretty much by default had to carry the offensive load. A roll that he has never had to play. I was surprised at how much of a threat he turned out to be. His slashing game is something he should stay away from since he gets contested too much. Perimeter and post -up game is solid.
    This will be a great improvement for Kobe’s game as well based on the rise of intensity in practice alone. Brilliant move by Kupchak.

  • http://slamonline Blaze

    Hedo to Portland, and Iverson maybe to the Grizz!! Wow, Grizz are suddenly looking like a playoff team. Look better than 2/3 of Texas teams and 3/4 of Calif. teams. Also look as good if not better then the Hornets.

  • yaway

    Why would the Lakers want to change their championship lineup.

  • http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/ NICK KALATHES

    “Blaze….:Iverson to the Grizz!! Wow,Grizz are suddenly looking like a playoff team.look bett….” yeap, these are my kids…you just made my night!! by the way:(@everybody) tell me another forum when you can get jewels like this comment.Seriously,tell me….(it is so perfectly written that i suspect that it is intentional or that it is actually Eboy or Tedddy using another nickname…)

  • http://slamonline.com J Dizzle

    Teddy-the-bear: no wonder you’re such a Laker hater, your a rockets fan. It all makes sense now. I really hate to see Ariza go, especially to a Yao-less Rockets squad. Why not take the lesser amount and stay on a championship team? Your agent really screwed up here, and as great as you were on the Lakers, I just don’t see you with the same kind of success in Houston. Good luck though, Ariza played his heart out in LA and I hope he does well next season. As a Laker fan, I was really skeptical about this news. Ariza was the man to LA fans this season, definitely a fan favorite. And getting Artest is a double-edged sword. He has great defense, but he is just so unpredictable at times. But honestly, he just wants to win. A hungry player like that can only make the Lakers better if he plays his best and doesn’t become a distraction. Like I said, I was skeptical at first, but now this looks like a good move for the Lakers (given that Ariza was on his way out anyway.) With Kobe and Ron on the same squad, the Laker’s defense will increase greatly. If Bynum finally comes out of his shell and gets more aggressive on D, I think the Lakers will look very scary this year.

  • Silverselectjd

    yaway, the lakeshow didnt want to change their lineup, but Ariza’s agent believed his boy was worth more, so if you got a specific amount of cash and some1 like Ron-Ron was willing to take it, then who would say no? Less D pressure on 24 means more output on O for 24! The race for 5 rings is on baby!!!

  • Peter B

    I’m amazed by the trades that are taking place, next season is gearing up to be a classic. 2010 laker’s = 1996 Bulls = 70 wins.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    @ J Dizzle: Yeah I sort of disliked the Lakers this postseason, but I’ve always kind of liked Kobe. Sure, I wanted to watch Ron Artest beat the cr@p out of him in Game 2 (minus the suspension part), but I’ve always respected his game. I sometimes like the Lakers, and I sometimes don’t lol.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    I’ll say my prediction again:
    With a big 3 consisting of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest, the Lakers are going to win next year’s championship. Then with the same core, they are going to threepeat. And then some.

  • mike

    I liked this move, with all the other Shaq, Carter, RJ trades going on around the NBA, this give lakers more chance to win back to back championship.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ RV

    Jdizzle, how did he mess up? He got his ring, looks like he wants personal achievements now, he got paid more than LA was willing to give him, this is a job afterall, money talks.

  • Canuck

    Hedo is heading to Toronto by the way.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    This whole situation in the NBA with the upcoming 2010 free agency period is really freaking annoying. Its ruining basically 80% of the NBA’s teams. All the talent from the lower 80% is getting moved to the upper 20%, where teams like LA, Orlando, and Cleveland are having a realistic shot at EACH cracking 70 wins. The rest of the 80% aren’t getting anywhere near the title now because they’re all mailing in the season.
    All these teams are essentially mailing in their next season while chasing after an impressive free agent market. What these teams don’t realize is that there’s only so many great free agents versus way more teams.
    Watch, after 2010, so many teams are going to be totally screwed over because they didn’t get Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, or LeBron. We’re talking about majorly facked up for maybe the next decade.
    THEN WHAT?

  • http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/482871/cj_king.html CJK

    Cosign Teddy-the-bear… LA is going to be good but now i think the locker room is going to be too small for these egos. Doesn’t anybody remember ron ron and kobe elbowing each other’s throats in the playoffs???

  • http://slamonline.com J Dizzle

    @RV: Yea he got his ring, and he got his contract. But he didn’t get THAT much more than he would’ve in LA. He’s making $33.5 mil over 5 years. That’s 6.7 million a year. That’s a little over a million a year than the Lakers wanted to give him. That’s a lot of money to you and I, but come on. That’s chump change if you really want to win a championship. BUT that’s not even why he left, according to his agent: “I told Mitch that it was never about the money; it was about respect.” That’s a quote from his agent. Go read the Yahoo! top sports story to see for yourself. Personal achievement? I’m sure he can’t to to pad his stats with a now defunct Houston team. So I stand by what I said. Unless Ariza is completely satisfied after next season (hmmmm… not lookin good in Houston lol) I will stand by my statement.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    ^ J, the Rockets are still going to make the playoffs.

  • HighYE

    I used to feel that after each bball season kupchak went on his extended vacations. Especially after the kobe-shaq championships with the exception of bringing in payton and malone. Now his worth his millions working hard to sign artest! Oh, mitch time to work a little harder and sign lamar!

  • http://www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Great, just found out Kobe’s gonna be visiting Asia (including the ‘Pore where i now live) sometime later this month on official business for Nike. On the one hand, i have connections to Nike Asia and i’m sure i could squeeze out a short meet and greet with him, on the other hand…I CAN’T STAND THE MAMBIATCH! Still, my best friend back in Europe is the ultimate Kobe fan and would die for any memorabilla i could get straight from the man himself. Photos, vids, autograph, anything would make him convulse with pride. What to do, what to do…? This is the first time i haven’t immediately leapt at the opportunity to meet a real life Nba player (and i’ve met a lot of em in person). Crap.

  • http://twitter.com/f0rever24 Eddie

    Ron Artest is obviously a great pick up for the
    purple and gold. Yes he does bring some baggage to LA but I’m sure Phil knows how to deal with Artest. He had a former player by the name of Dennis Rodman who was also a head case. But the result of Rodman and Jordan are self explanatory. Ron brings a physical nastyness that will look after Kobe (as Rodman did for Jordan) The benefits of having Artest will bring fortune to the Lakers. Kobe’s getting older (30) and Artest has the ability to now guard the opponents best offensive player (as Kobe would have done if Ron wasn’t signed). Saves Kobe energy for the offensive side of the court. The Lakers have been critized for being a “soft” team – I would like to hear them say that now. I smell another ring – REPEAT.!

  • jumpman3224

    As a Lakers fan, I hope that Ariza has a good career in Houston.

  • http://Nicekicks.com Hollywud15

    yet another player that I will be forced to root against after years of support. it was nice knowing u Ron…

  • Superman_Osman

    You gotta have BALLZ to elbow Ron Artest then politely ask him to play for your orginization!

  • http://myspace.com/edilvia_da_best edilvia4sho

    Bryant, and Artest?? In any case The Lakers are def still the number 1 team after this move.

  • http://slamonline.com J Dizzle

    Darksaber, if you have the chance, why not?! You may hate him, but you can’t deny his talent and the fact that he’s an MVP and 4 time champ. I think you should hook your friend up with some Kobe stuff, that would surely make his day and then some. Hell, get 2 autographs and put one on ebay so you have some personal incentive as well lol. Teddy, I wasn’t saying they won’t make it to the playoffs, but without Yao and Ron (even with Ariza) I don’t see them making it out of the first round. Who knows though, maybe we can see another good Lakers/Rockets series if the Rockets are able to stay strong.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    @ Darksaber: Lol as much as you h@te Kobe, I’m pretty sure he’s great guy to the fans. Otherwise he wouldn’t be endorsing Nike in the public, you know, where fans would see him. Go for it!
    @ J Dizzle: I know what you mean. With Ron and Yao the Rockets would have been top 5 title contenders in the league…
    Actually, I think Yao has a shot at being back after All-Star weekend, and with minimum number of games played, he’ll be fresh for the playoffs. I hope.

  • K

    this has nothin to do w/ this….but steve mcnair has been found dead w/ a gunshot wound to the head along w/ a female…seems to be homicide….damn

  • husky

    this just in!!!!!!!!!!!!

    kobe has been traded to bulls for greg oden, kirk hinrich, and 2010 1st round pick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • iLL wiLL

    What’s an Artest?

  • chazz michael michaels

    RIP Michael Jackson

  • http://http//www.youtube.com The Promise

    I’m feeling a repeat.

  • http://Egotastic.com Michael

    This a great trade for the Lakers. Ron is a upgrade over Ariza. He’s a better more physical defender, and he can hit an open three just as well. People keep bringing up his bad shot selection, but that won’t happen in La because unlike in Sacramento or Houston the ball wont be in his hands. As for Ariza, i really like the guy but going to Houston was a bad move. The only other place he would have the same type of sucess he had in La is Clevland. He won’t be getting those shots in Houston.

  • oncloudz909

    This is not a good trade for the Lake show. First, the only reason the lakers won the title was because they had the best record and had home court during the playoffs. Now, Ron is the type of player who NEEDS his shine and glory. Who is going to give up their FGA’s for him? There will be games next season where it comes down to Ron being a team player or being selfish. He will inevitably be selfish because when come from the “gutter” that is the way you have to be. By Ron being himself it will cost L.A. 6-8 close games next season denying them the best record in the L and consequently not securing home court throughout next season’s playoffs, meaning no repeat. Which ever team has home court through out next season’s playoffs wins the trophy.

  • TyF

    Bye Trevor – you should fire your agent. Houston’s best player left is Shane Battier – you know, the 6-8 small forward? Have fun on the bench dreaming about all the open shots you used to get while Kobe and Pau were doubled. Numnutz.

  • E.Rod

    Wow. Comments from anyone calling themselves Teddy carry no weight. Make up your mind front runner. You like the rockets and have a man crush on Kobe.

  • http://www.slamonline.com wayno

    Gives the Lakers the one guy in the league who might be able to check LeBron and slow him down just a tiny bit. Artest is BIG upgrade. Kobe and Artest gaurding the peremiter is a scary prospect…

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Right, because a screen name of E.Rod totally makes you a real O.G. Whoa, you must have major street cred with your Orange County posse! Dumb@ss.

  • al

    The Lakers will not miss Ariza, although they could regret getting Artest. The only one they really need to stay is Odom

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  • http://www.shoenut.blogspot.com ShoeNut

    Great pickup. Lakers needed more physical presence in the low post and Artest definitely provides that. Just don’t throw beer on him and everything will be fine!

  • http://erica@boldazmedia.com erica dacosta

    yes we needed a big man but i dont know if we made the best choice in artest but he made the hungry statement of he wants a ring bad just dont come to my town acting a fool.lakers have had enough no more jr riders and others around here.

  • http://erica@boldazmedia.com erica dacosta

    oyea to al lamar might have really stepped up alot but to be honest with u we should have gotten rid of his sometimely butt.\

  • brandon

    METTA WORLD PEACE

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