Ron Ron Comes to Hollywood

I fail to see this being a good trade/deal for the yellow/purple pants boys. Ariza at this stage, plays better D, shot well in the Playoffs and is infinetely less of a headcase than Rottweiler. Oh well, there goes any chance of a repeat….. good.

intriguing, interesting. on paper, artest is a much more accomplished player than ariza. but ariza had found a niche in la and did all the little things very well without ever trying to do too much. artest is… artest. which can be a wonderful or disastrous thing. i have no idea if this is an upgrade or not. laker fans, what say you?

Obviously, 2nd ariza is Artest.

Slight upgrade. Trevor is a very good anticipator but not a particularly great on-the-ball defender. Ron Ron plays great aggressive on-the-ball D without fouling unnecessarily. I would call the defense almost even depending on what you value more. But on offense, i think Ron can do a lot more: create, post, shoot, handle. Trevor is a slasher who became a very reliable three point shooter. If Ron can keep his mind right and not try to supplant Gasol as the #2 man then they should be alright.

I’m really kind of sad about this… Ron Artest is probably my favorite ball player right now. And he was on one of my favorite teams. This stings, in a basketball sense, it stings pretty harshly. I know for sure Ron would’ve stayed with Houston, but what with Yao’s injury, a successful season was out of the question. Best of luck to my man Ron Artest and I hope he wins a ring, regardless if Sasha Vujacic and Adam Morrison and Lamar Odom are on his team.
Us fans will definitely miss you, Ron Artest. Thank you for what you brought to the table this year, getting us out of the first round, giving it your all against the Lakers, every second. You’ve always been loyal and honest, a nice contrast to the many fakers in the league. You’ve played without paying too much attention to the cash, a nice contrast to the many misers out there in the league. To all the haters out there, know this: RON ARTEST IS STILL THE MAN.

Now time to stop being depressed. LOL.
@ Darksaber: Ron Artest is a much better player than Trevor Ariza at this point in their careers. Nickthequick was spot on with his analysis, so I won’t go too deeply into that.
See, the whole hype about how Ron Artest is bad for teams is total BS. He’s a great teammate and he’s learned to contain his emotions better on the court. He’s also got the toughness that many people said the Lakers lacked last season. As a leader and in his all-around playing style, he always has great chemistry with his teammates.
The one thing I would be a little worried about, as a Laker/Lakers fan, is his relationship with Kobe Bryant. I know Kobe likes to direct a lot of traffic for his teammates, and criticize, etc. Sometimes Kobe gets a little out of line, even on his own teammates. Now, a softie like Sasha will gladly take Kobe’s verbal abuse, but a tough dude like Ron Artest might very well flip out and knock him the f– out… understandably. That’s pretty much the only worry.
Oh and don’t forget Ron Artest is long-time homies with Lamar Odom, which will give Lamar incentive to re-up with LA. Also, Ron Artest is a great additional because of his lack of selfishness. He’s willing to take Ariza’s mid-level pay, which allows the Lakers to retain some key pieces.
I really don’t see any negatives to this move, and, as a Rockets fan, I’m pretty sour about it.

*reaching*

Spike chose the wrong season to do a doco on Kobe. He should have waited until next season so that he could have captured what will no doubt be countless disfigurements of exasperation on Kobe’s face as Ron Ron launches bad shot after bad shot.

All in favor say, “aye”

This is too cool. Can’t wait for next season!

think about this… E.O.Y. for Mitchie K. , D.P.O.Y. for Ron-Ron, 6th Man for Lamar, and maybe MVP for KB24, but best of all REPEAT, THREE-PEAT …DYNASTY… LA= 5 CHAMPS in the ’00s

The tru warrior joining the ultimate warrior(kobe) will be dynamite! I love trevor’s game but i think with ron-ron the purple ang gold can match up better against the likes of melo, pp and ultimatelt, the king. as for trevor signing with the rockets, i think it wasn’t in his best interest to join them since they already have battier. He would’ve been better off in cleveland. Sheed please sign with the Celts already!

The Lakers lose anticipation in the passing lanes, and explosive athleticism in halfcourt and on the break. Other than that, this is a huge upgrade.
I thank Ron sincerely for the effort that he put in the last year, and wish him success. Knowing the current situation in Houston playerwise, I think I would have likely taken similair steps in his position.

I am not a Lakers fan, but I have been saying for years that Artest should have been to LA, to be Kobe’s Pipen.

FREE RON ARTEST! Slam it took a few years, but he’s finally FREE

The arms race continues,

First San Antonio

Then Cleveland

Orlando followed suit

LA was next.

Expect to hear about big moves going down in Boston, Portland, Dallas and Denver.

oh man…what a bad move. Artest maybe an upgrade over Ariza on paper, but this ain’t NBA 2k9! sure he’s great on defense (though Ariza is almost as good anyway) but on offense? everybody who watched last season and playoffs can clearly see him pounding and pounding the ball or jacking up three after three that clangs off the rim. the Lakers’ pretty offense will stagnate if he continues to do that in LA (which i think he prob’ly would). his main flaw is thinking he’s Kobe on offense. which he’s not. “Teddy-the-Bear: …a softie like Sasha will gladly take Kobe’s verbal abuse, but a tough dude like Ron Artest might very well flip out and knock him the f– out… understandably.”

Laker blood here: Ron’s Definitely a short term upgrade, no doubt about it. For years, people around here have been yawing of the guy, even contemplating Lamar for Artest trades back in Artest’s Queens says. I think everyone recognized that Kobe needed his Pippen, and a few years ago, Artest was probably the closest thing. … well, times have changed a bit. A ton of other 3′s have learned to play some defense, and Artest’s game has receded a bit (plus he kinda gave up in Sacto, but that town tends to do that to people). Even though Artest is better than Ariza, I’m pretty sure everyone knows that his better days are behind him. So as a Laker fan, ya, I’m happy we upgraded. At the same time, I’m a little sad, cuz we loved Ariza, and I’m also a lil’ disappointed in Ariza. Some people were even going as far to call Ariz the next Scottie Pippen, and under Phil, and alongside Kobe, they may have been right. But Trev wasn’t there yet, and may never get there without those two. I think he got a greedy a lil’ too soon. LA will miss you Ariza, but just remember that you chose this bro! Meanwhile, Artest will cash us in the next 3 championships … rings that could’ve been yours.

Agree with the fact that Ariza had a great playoff series but his agent was asking for too much money. What did he sign for with the rockets finally? 33 mil over 5 years. Artests deal is 18 mil over 3 years. Not much difference in money. Biggest difference is the opportunity to win rings. His agent bluffed and the Lakers called it. Artest is a good upgrade from Trevor and I think this will be a good fit for LA. It also brings a lot of toughness and versitality to the team. Unfortunately Trevor is going to be stuck in rebuilding with the rockets….

Ariza use to always speak about team, and helping out, and contributing in small ways, whenever he talked to the media. He told us he was a role player, and he played a huge role for us. When it came down to money talk though, he wanted us to pay him more, and felt “disrespected” when he didn’t get all he wanted. If he wanted to play for the Lakers, and make money, he would’ve taken the mid-level, and signed it short, so he could continue to grow and develop as a player, and earn the larger contract. He wanted us to pay him more than he was worth though, and was willing to take the exact same salary we offered him in another place. I wish I could respect his decision more, because like many in LA, I love the guy, but I think he just made a mistake, and now he has to live with it.

Also Ariza would have flourished in the triangle and get more visibility on the Lakers which would lead to endorsements. His agent claims Disrespect?? He missed the boat and fked up Trevors chance so he is spouting crap. There was no way LA would have paid more, specially after the big Bynum deal. Also, we still need Lamar back…

i was thinking.
for those who say he’s gonna ruin chemistry, etc.
he took a pay cut and chose the Lakers. he wasnt traded

maybe he understands his role?

just a thought

IF artest behaves himself this will be an absolute steal for the lakers – and lets give ron some credit, he could have got far more than $6m a year but he’s taking less to win at a much younger age (29) than most players who take discounts to play for winners

So the second biggest basketball team in the world can’t afford an extra 2mil per year? Of course they can. They are gambling that they will be able to get the same production from Artest. But Ron Ron is not a spot up shooter, has lost a couple of steps and commands the ball a lot. I think this will turn out to be a move of Poseyan proportions

This is an excellent trade for LA if for no other reseason Kobe has one less beast to face. Artest drains opponents physically and mentally. Can my Celtics sign Wallace already and move on to get another piece please!!!