Ron Artest is a Laker, Trevor Ariza is gone.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I hope artest gets fed up with kobe one day and knocks him out in the dressing room

hate to see ariza go, hopefully he doesnt become a threat on another team which is doubtful though

why is that doubtful?

[Elano]

Trevor Ariza will regret the day that his agent played tough with the NBA champs.

Kobe Bryant(notes) always admired that Ron Artest(notes) never acted like he wanted an autograph when duty demanded that he defend him.
He loved that Artest was combustible and crazy and always left people wondering: Is this the moment when Ron-Ron loses his mind again, when all hell breaks loose?

Deep down, Bryant wanted Artest on his side. Artest gives a thirtysomething Kobe what Dennis Rodman gave a thirtysomething Michael Jordan: A belligerent, tough guy bearing the burden of protecting the superstar’s back.

And as far back as the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers believed Artest wanted to trade Houston for Hollywood, that the Rockets’ decaying cornerstone of Yao Ming(notes) and Tracy McGrady(notes) turned that team into a temporary rehab assignment.

“If they couldn’t get Trevor [Ariza] cheap,” said a source with knowledge of the Lakers’ free-agent plans, “they had Ron in their back pocket.”

Change is good for a defending champion. When the rest of the NBA’s elite – Cleveland, Orlando and Boston are getting better – the champion can’t just stand pat. As an executive and a player chasing repeat titles, Detroit’s Joe Dumars says, “I like to make one significant change in that second year.”

This gives the Lakers something to incorporate, to work through, across a long training camp and regular season. This way, they aren’t tempted to just coast until the playoffs. This changes the dynamic for everyone, and give Artest this: Around him, there’s never complacency.

Bryant never campaigned for Artest over Ariza, his loyalty with the hot-shooting kid who helped him win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal(notes). In the long run, the Lakers were wiser to keep the young Ariza to transition into a post-Kobe stardom. Yet, general manager Mitch Kupchak barely blinked when Ariza’s agent, David Lee, started talking like a tough guy, parading his client on what one rival GM called “a leverage tour.”


The Lakers don’t believe he’ll leave, Lee kept barking. Surprise, surprise: Lee didn’t think the Lakers would tell him to get lost, sign Artest and leave Ariza to take the five-year, $33 million deal in Houston he could’ve had in L.A.


“I told Mitch that it was never about the money; it was about respect,” Lee told NBA.com.


Well, take your respect and pack your client’s bags for post-Yao lottery land in Houston. Respect? Yes, there are American soldiers and missionaries in faraway lands cheering for David Lee and this noble stand for the neglected and disenfranchised everywhere. It is about respect, and God knows a $33 million offer for Ariza’s eight points and four rebounds a game rates a disgraceful act.


No, this wasn’t about the money, nor his client’s needs. This was a failed power play, an embarrassment of the highest order. Looking back, Ariza will rue the day. He’s a good player, but he’ll never be a star elsewhere. He’ll just be another player on another team.

“He was way too emotional about this,” said a league executive who had talked to Lee in recent days.

Yet, you can be a star without being a star with the Lakers. When L.A. is winning championships, the role players become commodities. They get endorsements. They get television careers. Ask Rick Fox. Or Derek Fisher(notes). Ariza was an L.A. kid living a dream, 24 years old, a gifted, young talent on the defending champion, and his agent’s bluff backfired.


Now, Artest trades places with Ariza, and the Lakers get a dimension they haven’t had in a long, long time. Perhaps three or four years ago, Artest couldn’t have handled living and playing in L.A. He gives the Lakers sheer nastiness, and as an executive with one of his past teams said Thursday night, “Ronnie will show everyone that he can win. I think he’s matured, and overall, he’ll be on his best behavior. Phil [Jackson] has been through this before with Rodman. He’ll handle this.”

Ultimately, it wasn’t Jackson who made it work for two titles with Rodman in Chicago, but Jordan. The locker room is policed by the superstar, never the coach. Artest is the right player, right time for Bryant. As Kobe hits his 30s, he can’t be chasing the best player on defense every night. Now, Artest gets the job. What’s more, Kobe gets a maniac who will want to please him, get his approval. Anything is possible with Ron-Ron running roughshod in Los Angeles.

“I hope it’s chaos,” a Western Conference GM texted Thursday night.

And maybe, in some ways, that won’t be the worst thing in the world for the Lakers. Chaos? That’s letting your agent’s agenda and big mouth get your butt shipped from the Los Angeles Lakers for lottery land in Houston. Kobe Bryant had been willing to take back his whole team, but Ariza made the mistake of giving the Lakers what they always wanted, what they always believed was available to them: the combustible and crazy Ron Artest.

Kobe Bryant gets his Rodman now, and yes, this is how all hell breaks loose in Hollywood.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^yea...basically, Ariza fucked up. if he woulda committed to signing with us from the get go and made it clear that he wanted to stay, he coulda gotten the same money from us that he got from Houston....stupid shit. our gain.

[Doggystylin]

I love Ariza as a player but goddamn hes stupid. Did he really think we'd pick him over a proven Artest? Wake up.

[Jaydc555]

Ariza was a key part of the lakers championship.His timely threes and those key steals against Denver

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I love Ariza as a player but goddamn hes stupid. Did he really think we'd pick him over a proven Artest? Wake up.

holy shit, muthafucka....ur not scared of the dub anymore. congrats.


come hit a bleez in celebration of this acquisition, bitchelade

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Ariza was a key part of the lakers championship.His timely threes and those key steals against Denver

Real shit...and Artest will be a key part in the next few ships.

[Rick McCrank]

Sasha makes 3 mil

he makes 5... I thought it was 6

3 years   15 million


still though.... Sasha gets 5 and Ariza gets 5.6.... and Walton is getting 6!

it's childish stuff but these guys think this way

[Styles1]

Ariza definiately had key moments, but if our defense was better, we wouldn't have been in those sticky situations to begin with. With Kobe & Ron defending along with 2 7 footers and 1 near 7 footer, our defense just improved greatly.

Plus, Ariza won't be seeing open 3's in Houston....they don't have anybody worth double-teaming. 

[Halu Sination]

Sasha makes 3 mil

he makes 5... I thought it was 6

3 years   15 million


still though.... Sasha gets 5 and Ariza gets 5.6.... and Walton is getting 6!

it's childish stuff but these guys think this way

Yeah Sasha gets 5 mil a year. Like you said, players SHOULDN'T think that way, but these are young dudes who haven't even hit their prime yet.

It's a shame that the mentality kicked Ariza in the ass and now he's stuck with Houston.

[GangstaBoogy]

I'd rather have Ariza. Dude was selfless, willing to learn, always ready, a clutch defender, and just a likeable guy. His agent ruined shit cuz I know Trevor would much rather be in L.A. then Houston (shit he signed with them for the exact same amount). Artest is obviously the better one-on-one defender but he's also a ball stopper and a ticking time bomb. I have a bad feeling about this.

Ariza and Gasol were two of my favorite players when they were in Orlando and Memphis respectively. It was a dream come true having both of them on my team.

[Jaydc555]

What I don't understand is why ariza went to Houston when the cavs wanted him

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

What I don't understand is why ariza went to Houston when the cavs wanted him

he probably wanted 2 stay out west

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

^^ no one wants to play with lebron 

[Halu Sination]

^^ no one wants to play with lebron 

That's actually partially true. No free agent is giving the Cavs the time of day because LeBron has (and won't) give any verbal commitment that he plans on staying with Cleveland. They already got dicked over by the three free agents they were chasing... Ariza and Artest already signed to different teams, Sheed refused to even visit Cleveland.

It's actually a smart move on LeBron's part since we all know he's worried about saying all the right things, so the media won't call him as a dirty rat like Boozer and Brand... but at the same time, it's also pretty stupid if he ever truly had any real intentions of winning a ring in Cleveland.