what a steal at 6mil/yr - assuming he took a paycut to play with a winning team
as much as I hate the lakers I think their starting lineup is gonna be downright scary this year, this def means that Ariza is gone now (Cavs need to jump on that pronto or they're gonna lose out bigtime in FA this summer)
strange choice? you clearly have not watched much bball - or at least not the lakers.
the lakers need a replacement for ariza..... a shut down defender who shoots 3s and can slash... artest is just an upgraded (at this stage in their careers) for ariza.
if that's strange......
this season should be fun, San Antonio beefed up, Cavs are getting better (esp if they get ariza), portland is getting more experienced but I think they're still too young and sans a decent point, the celtics are looking to get better (if they can land sheed) and healthy, and if VC works out for the magic - you can argue they got better as well. good times.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
Jeff certainly you know I watch basketball, as much as my schedule will allow.
Strange choice because the lakers have given up on resigning Ariza? I mean, he's from LA, he wanted to be a laker. Why give up on him? He's a young guy with a ton of potential. A true stretch forward.
Plus in my book they already have a small forward, Artest is the same age as lamar so, I don't know. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it was a strange choice. So by strange; you take a guy with character problems, is older, and wants a lot of touches; and give up a young guy that just wants to play for his hometown.
Rumor that Ariza might go to the rockets. LA screwed themselves with that. Kid has potential, I wouldn't mind him going to the Magic, since I hear Carter might end up there.
Fair enough, for the present Artest is an upgrade and really fills the role Ariza abandoned better than Ariza did - again currently. Being a UCLA season ticket holder and a Laker fan I'm not thrilled to see Ariza go, but his agent is partially to blame - I wish I could find the article by Ken Berger on sportsline.com comparing how Bynum's deal was done and Ariza's was and the similarities of his complaining to the media in hopes to get what he wants style... it totally backfired this time. Though, I'm happy Ariza will get paid what he deserves after his showing this playoffs. It was becoming obvious he wouldn't play for the mid level exemption (the only thing the Lakers could offer, mind you they dont have to sign JUST Odom ... the NEED to sign Shannon Brown as well), so the Lakers took a player that is the best shut down defender in the league (only Battier even compares) and a better 3 point shooter than Ariza. Again, this is all CURRENTLY it woulda been nice to sign Ariza for 4-5 more years as I think he will be a star and hope he is - but it just wasn't in the cards.
So, in short you get this for the Ariza -> Artest swap (imo).....
+ One on One Defender - Off the ball defender (but you have Kobe to play that roll, which he does very well) + Toughness (Artest is a tough SOB) - The chance for a headcase (but Phil / Kobe / Fisher / Odom will be able to handle it, plus he's calmed down) + Better offensive player (this is from watching a ton of Ariza and a fair amount of Artest - this is very subjective but I think Artest will fit in the triangle better...... though Ariza in the playoffs was a stud) + Now you have 3 guys who can defend pretty much any position but the 5 on the floor (lovely for matchups)
You get a better player for the short term, imo.
The end of the wall'o'text.
and to the method guy... VC is in orlando buddy.... already happened.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
I just reread your post and wanted to say 1 more thing... the Lakers didn't 'give up' on resigning Ariza..... according to his agent he was 'offended' that they only offered him the mid level exemption (which is all the Lakers really had to work with) ..... so, instead of playing cat and mouse with a guy who thinks he's worth $8-9mil a year (and i dont think that's unfair) they went out and got a guy who fits very well and wants to be there before he got snatched up by someone else...
I think it was less a matter of giving up on Ariza and more a case of it was the only way it was gonna work and both sides get, more or less, what they wanted.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
it's like day two of free agency; contracts can't even be made until next week. I just think long term, maybe they should have sat down, cooled him down, and talked. Kobe, Lamar, Artest are all in their 30s, fisher is old, and gasol is 29. I hope Cleveland can get Ariza, or Matt Barnes, or some long defender.
I get nervous when all these teams start racking up cap space. The Pistons deal was laughable and doesn't make them any better. Here's to hoping my Cavs can sign someone.
Long term, yea Ariza obviously would have been the choice, but the Lakers can't afford to pay him more than the mid level after playing good for one playoff run (granted he played well all year) But in the end you never know, remember when Sasha Vujacic had a great playoff and season last year? What did he do this year? He had his worst shooting season of his career after LA resigned him after the playoffs. IMO getting Artest for 3 years is a better and cheaper than signing Ariza and possibly losing Odom. Now LA can def get Odom back.
REPEAT BABY
Raiders>U :| [b]Undisputed Greatest El Salvadorian DoD Player Ever[/b] You just been hellblazed.
when ron artest will play for the mle, you graciously accept the offer. if anyone can keep his head on his shoulders, it's phil jackson. ariza should have taken the money and kept his mouth shut. now he's going to an infinitely worse team, making the same amount of money, only it's guaranteed for 2 more years. umm, trevor, if you're as good as you think you are, you're going to want a new deal before then.
so LA is better. SA is better. assuming portland signs hedo, they're better. orlando we'll have to wait and see, they could be better or worse with vc. if boston signs sheed, and if kg still has 2 knees, they might be better. cleveland... needs to get to work. or start fitting lebron for a new teams jersey.
-ChanServ- Your info line has been set to ' Wow he sucks at dod and has aol'.
Wow according to arizas agent it was "never about the money, he just wanted to play in a place he felt wanted" LA gave him an offer day 1 and he just took one that had a couple of more years on it. Wish he would have just signed it but oh well, Ill take Ron Artest are you kidding me?
Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant
Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and who ever wants to step up next year, LA is gonna be winning rings for a while.
Raiders>U :| [b]Undisputed Greatest El Salvadorian DoD Player Ever[/b] You just been hellblazed.
and prax, i dont think you can really blame ariza.... his stock is high as hell right now and he couldnt get the money he was 'worth' which is easily 7+mil in LA, nor the duration of contract he wanted..... so he went for the money.... cant really blame him.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
It was smart for LA to get him, he's such a powerful personality he's definitely going to bring back the desire for LA to win another title. If they didn't bring in someone new, they'd be playing to defend their title, now they will be playing because they want to win again.
They could always have injuries again though, and the Celtics are going to be nasty, same with the nuggets, cavs, utah, and magic, and whatever team Hedo goes to assuming that team made the playoffs already.
i don't blame ariza personally, moreso his agent... but it was obvious that no one really had the money to throw around more than 5-6 mil/year, and of all the teams to sign with... i just can't see the rockets being very good next year, and he plays the same position as battier. i guess that means shane could be on the move, but imagine for just one second if he had signed with the cavs...
i've already got my hopes up for a cavs-lakers final. kobe-bron. kobe-shaq. good-evil. just kidding. throwing ariza in there would have added just another fun subplot. instead he's playing for a rockets team that could be w/o their 3 best players from last year.
-ChanServ- Your info line has been set to ' Wow he sucks at dod and has aol'.
Houston and LA swap Artest for Ariza. Right now, I would go with Artest. Much better scorer and defender. The only reason Ariza was making 3's is cause most of them were wide open, and even then they weren't going in sometimes. He shot a gross 31% from beyond the arc this year :\ Sorry, I just really don't like Ariza.
#10 I don't think Artest is going to want a lot of touches. He had to throw the ball up in Houston with Yao out most the year and Tmac gone. Plus, the fact that he was willing to take a paycut to come to LA makes me think he wants a ring pretty bad and won't mind letting Kobe run the show. Great pickup for LA, not strange at all.
Ariza did single-handedly win them a few games in the playoffs..... not saying Artest can't do the same, but to say he was only making wide-open 3s is not true.
He also shot 48% from 3 point land in the playoffs..... open or not, that's incredible.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
are you kidding me? we have nobody now. oh wait, we have derik rose who does the exact same drive to the basket EVERY time he gets the ball. we are saved!!!
ariza is young and upcoming artest is now. Plain and simple since the lakers already have a older team they want the wins now unlike the rockets who seem to want to rebuild with a younger team now since they lost the freakishly tall asian.
Cavs Are going to be a good team but just cuz they got shaq does not mean they are going to win. However if they get a hold of sheed then it looks like the lakers and the cavs are the teams to beat
Magic were stupid to trade lee and alston for carter especially with the loss of turkalo.
Teams that will make a improvement from last year will be OKC Detroit and maybe the clippers.
OKC and Portland (if they can keep their cores together) will both be damn good in 2-3 years.
and Bismal, Turkoglu was completely an independent move from the C.Lee/VC trade. But, I think it'll be interesting to see how that Magic team does - I think their starters got better at the expense of their bench though.
Also, about the Cavs, I feel like I'm alone on this..... but why did they get a guy who's just going to clog up the middle (himself and the 2 people cheating to double team him) when they have the best slasher to ever play the game? I feel like that might not work as well as people think..... but I could be off.
I HIT MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON 4 TIMES AND IM STILL IN BIG LETTER MODE
hey scrd you cutie... anyways i know turkeyglu had nothing to do with the trade i just meant that Orlando just lost another perimeter shooter along with lee.
Now they have a 32 year old that was amazing in his prime but is pretty much as good as sam cassell was in his last few years.
As for the cavs picking up old people they might want to pick up Shawn Kemp out of retirement :O Babys need to be made!
Ron Artest Goin Back to Cali
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?..
I love LA
Get ready for that 6PEAT BABY YA!
Duh guy?
as much as I hate the lakers I think their starting lineup is gonna be downright scary this year, this def means that Ariza is gone now (Cavs need to jump on that pronto or they're gonna lose out bigtime in FA this summer)
the lakers need a replacement for ariza..... a shut down defender who shoots 3s and can slash... artest is just an upgraded (at this stage in their careers) for ariza.
if that's strange......
this season should be fun, San Antonio beefed up, Cavs are getting better (esp if they get ariza), portland is getting more experienced but I think they're still too young and sans a decent point, the celtics are looking to get better (if they can land sheed) and healthy, and if VC works out for the magic - you can argue they got better as well. good times.
Strange choice because the lakers have given up on resigning Ariza? I mean, he's from LA, he wanted to be a laker. Why give up on him? He's a young guy with a ton of potential. A true stretch forward.
Plus in my book they already have a small forward, Artest is the same age as lamar so, I don't know. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it was a strange choice. So by strange; you take a guy with character problems, is older, and wants a lot of touches; and give up a young guy that just wants to play for his hometown.
Strange.
Artest may have character problems, but Jackson does have a knack for managing odd-balls and egos off the court (Dennis Rodman comes to mind).
So, in short you get this for the Ariza -> Artest swap (imo).....
+ One on One Defender
- Off the ball defender (but you have Kobe to play that roll, which he does very well)
+ Toughness (Artest is a tough SOB)
- The chance for a headcase (but Phil / Kobe / Fisher / Odom will be able to handle it, plus he's calmed down)
+ Better offensive player (this is from watching a ton of Ariza and a fair amount of Artest - this is very subjective but I think Artest will fit in the triangle better...... though Ariza in the playoffs was a stud)
+ Now you have 3 guys who can defend pretty much any position but the 5 on the floor (lovely for matchups)
You get a better player for the short term, imo.
The end of the wall'o'text.
and to the method guy... VC is in orlando buddy.... already happened.
I think it was less a matter of giving up on Ariza and more a case of it was the only way it was gonna work and both sides get, more or less, what they wanted.
found the article, it was latimes not sportsline - my bad.
it's an interesting read.
I get nervous when all these teams start racking up cap space. The Pistons deal was laughable and doesn't make them any better. Here's to hoping my Cavs can sign someone.
Artest is 29
Long term, yea Ariza obviously would have been the choice, but the Lakers can't afford to pay him more than the mid level after playing good for one playoff run (granted he played well all year)
But in the end you never know, remember when Sasha Vujacic had a great playoff and season last year? What did he do this year? He had his worst shooting season of his career after LA resigned him after the playoffs. IMO getting Artest for 3 years is a better and cheaper than signing Ariza and possibly losing Odom. Now LA can def get Odom back.
REPEAT BABY
so LA is better. SA is better. assuming portland signs hedo, they're better. orlando we'll have to wait and see, they could be better or worse with vc. if boston signs sheed, and if kg still has 2 knees, they might be better. cleveland... needs to get to work. or start fitting lebron for a new teams jersey.
Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant
Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and who ever wants to step up next year, LA is gonna be winning rings for a while.
Don't get ahead of yourself.
They could always have injuries again though, and the Celtics are going to be nasty, same with the nuggets, cavs, utah, and magic, and whatever team Hedo goes to assuming that team made the playoffs already.
i've already got my hopes up for a cavs-lakers final. kobe-bron. kobe-shaq. good-evil. just kidding. throwing ariza in there would have added just another fun subplot. instead he's playing for a rockets team that could be w/o their 3 best players from last year.
#10 I don't think Artest is going to want a lot of touches. He had to throw the ball up in Houston with Yao out most the year and Tmac gone. Plus, the fact that he was willing to take a paycut to come to LA makes me think he wants a ring pretty bad and won't mind letting Kobe run the show. Great pickup for LA, not strange at all.
He also shot 48% from 3 point land in the playoffs..... open or not, that's incredible.
are you kidding me? we have nobody now. oh wait, we have derik rose who does the exact same drive to the basket EVERY time he gets the ball. we are saved!!!
Plain and simple since the lakers already have a older team they want the wins now unlike the rockets who seem to want to rebuild with a younger team now since they lost the freakishly tall asian.
Cavs Are going to be a good team but just cuz they got shaq does not mean they are going to win. However if they get a hold of sheed then it looks like the lakers and the cavs are the teams to beat
Magic were stupid to trade lee and alston for carter especially with the loss of turkalo.
Teams that will make a improvement from last year will be
OKC
Detroit
and maybe the clippers.
and Bismal, Turkoglu was completely an independent move from the C.Lee/VC trade. But, I think it'll be interesting to see how that Magic team does - I think their starters got better at the expense of their bench though.
Also, about the Cavs, I feel like I'm alone on this..... but why did they get a guy who's just going to clog up the middle (himself and the 2 people cheating to double team him) when they have the best slasher to ever play the game? I feel like that might not work as well as people think..... but I could be off.
anyways i know turkeyglu had nothing to do with the trade i just meant that Orlando just lost another perimeter shooter along with lee.
Now they have a 32 year old that was amazing in his prime but is pretty much as good as sam cassell was in his last few years.
As for the cavs picking up old people they might want to pick up Shawn Kemp out of retirement :O Babys need to be made!
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