The Trevor Ariza Conundrum

The Laker front office has some tough decisions to make this summer: “The Lakers will have five unrestricted free agents over the summer and many difficult decisions to make. Ariza sits front and center in all of them. The better he plays, the larger the market for his services will grow. And while the Lakers would undoubtedly like to keep the wiry Westchester High grad, the larger the market he finds, the less money there is for their other free agents: Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga. ‘When you play well, that normally is a good thing if you’re going to be a free agent,’ Kupchak said. ‘It’s all good, when guys play well I’m happy for them. It’s a good problem to have. There’s nothing there that needs to be addressed right now. We’re happy with his performance, we look at him as an important part of this team. The money thing will take care of itself during the offseason, when there’s a market that’s established.'”