The only reason I don't like this is I really hate watching Artest play basketball. I mean physically the way he moves, dribbles, shoots... it's ugly basketball. I mean I will get tired of watching him every single game quick.
Outside of that it's a no brainer. Ariza is younger and more of a fast break threat, that's it. The fast break dies down the more Kobe and Fish play.
And God said, Let There Be Rock. And there was Led Zeppelin.
R.I.P ~ Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, John Bonham, Kurt Cobain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Hutchence, George Harrison, Syd Barrett, Richard Wright, Michael Jackson ~
The only reason I don't like this is I really hate watching Artest play basketball. I mean physically the way he moves, dribbles, shoots... it's ugly basketball. I mean I will get tired of watching him every single game quick.
Outside of that it's a no brainer. Ariza is younger and more of a fast break threat, that's it. The fast break dies down the more Kobe and Fish play.
The fast break aspect is also something I didn't really consider, and a very good point.
With Gasol and Bynum in the post, it would be a great luxary to have someone like Artest, who ugly or not offensively, can at least create for himself (something Ariza cannot do), making it less of an option for double teams to camp out on Kobe, Gasol or even Bynum.
I also think having someone like Artest could be good for this team in terms of stepping up the defensive energy of everyone. He's more outspoken, and we need a little of that when people start falling alseep on the defensive end.
since he can score more on his own, kobe can take longer breaks (hopefully 34-35 mpg in the regular season).
he's a better man defender. he also has much more muscle and brute strength and ariza.
he's a better 3 point shooter. this means kobe will have more room to do what he does. ariza was often left wide open, which is why he hit at 50%+ in the palyoffs.
cons:
he's crazy.
can't get steals like ariza can.
can't fast break/run like ariza can.
The thing is Ariza wasn't foregoing a bigger pay day.
He wanted a championship team...
A starting role...
Play at home...
And for the Lakers to overpay him by offering him more than all other teams were willing or able to.
He's insane.
It's Lee's job to inform him of this. Only Portland and Toronto can offer in the 8 million range at this point, and I would assume that either would offer Turkoglu first. Calling out your client's team on the first day of free agency and threatening to sign with another team for MLE money out of spite was a colossal mistake. Mitch and company made them pay the price. Ariza will find no better situation and I hope he lets Lee know about it. Hopefully that piece of **** won't encourage Bynum to begin lobbying and complaining for more touches.
Kobe will still get about about 15 shot attempts, Pau 10 attempts, Artest will want at the very least 10, and Odom deserves 10 as well. So that's forty-five shot attempts for four people? What happens to Bynum, he becomes a role player? I don't think so. It's not a simple fix like your suggesting. This move will cause chemistry problems, most likely with Bynum, and problems with our offensive execution down the stretch of games.
Lamar Odom hasn't really taken over 10 shots a game since 2007, before Gasol was on the team. LO, of all people, would care the least of any player about getting shots. After this past season of playing on the bench and averaging 9 shots per game, it's pretty clear LO is the one that is going to sacrifice shots if anyone does. Granted, I worry about this deal a lot too. I have the same reservations about Artest over-dribbling and not being content in the triangle, much the way Payton struggled. But the triple post offense will place Artest in more of play-making role and, believe it or not, he really excelled as a Sacramento King (at times) at getting other people the ball. The problem he's had with the Kings and Rockets is that he was tempted to shoot way too often because he knew he was a legit 2nd option (at worst) on those teams. On the Lakers, hopefully he'll realize he's a 4th option and be content. We'll see.
One thing is for sure; it'll improve his D now that he doesn't have to score 17 per game. But will he slow down? Will he got nuts again? Impossible to say with any certainty.
Dream come true. Love Artest. Thrilled he's on the Lakers.
To add to this dream scenario, what if we signed Artest to play PG and we re-signed Ariza? Just sayin...
__________________ Chick Hearn: This game is in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the lights are out, the eggs are gettin' cool, the butter's gettin' hard, and the jellooooooo's jigglin'!
The 2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers
PG: Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar
SG: Kobe Bryant, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic
SF: Ron Artest, Luke Walton, Adam Morrison
PF: Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Josh Powell
C: Andrew Bynum, D.J. Mbenga
I just hope there's no drama in 2009-2010 because we didn't this past year. Here's a hoping Artest doesn't pull a TO.
__________________
And God said, Let There Be Rock. And there was Led Zeppelin.
R.I.P ~ Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, John Bonham, Kurt Cobain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Hutchence, George Harrison, Syd Barrett, Richard Wright, Michael Jackson ~
Lamar Odom hasn't really taken over 10 shots a game since 2007, before Gasol was on the team. LO, of all people, would care the least of any player about getting shots. After this past season of playing on the bench and averaging 9 shots per game, it's pretty clear LO is the one that is going to sacrifice shots if anyone does. Granted, I worry about this deal a lot too. I have the same reservations about Artest over-dribbling and not being content in the triangle, much the way Payton struggled. But the triple post offense will place Artest in more of play-making role and, believe it or not, he really excelled as a Sacramento King (at times) at getting other people the ball. The problem he's had with the Kings and Rockets is that he was tempted to shoot way too often because he knew he was a legit 2nd option (at worst) on those teams. On the Lakers, hopefully he'll realize he's a 4th option and be content. We'll see.
One thing is for sure; it'll improve his D now that he doesn't have to score 17 per game. But will he slow down? Will he got nuts again? Impossible to say with any certainty.
I can see the positives he brings, it's difficult not to see them. And I know Odom will possibly suffer more then Bynum this season, but in the long haul this could really mess with his development. 'Drew should be our third option, but with the signing of Artest I don't see that happening and that can hurt us not only this year but for years to come. And if worse comes to worse, we can end up with a very upset big man.
I've been pulling for Ron Artest to play on the Lakers for the past couple years, and it seems to finally becoming to fruition. I believe Coach Jackson is the perfect coach for Ron's personality, and Kobe the prefect leader for Rons personality. Can they control Ron ? NO, but Jordan and Coach Jackson couldn't control Dennis Rodman either, but they were able to make it work for a few rings. I see the same future for Ron in LA. I'm just so buzzing right now, everything is sizzling for me! Now that Ron Ron in the house, Two of my favorite players in the league now on the Lakers.
Wow. I have mixed feelings about this. I wanted Artest before we had Gasol but now that we won the title I am a little more cautious about such a drastic change to the team.
Artest certainly has the ability to make us a dominant team.
__________________
"We've learned Kobe Bryant has been asked to run the Federal Reserve. The feeling is, he can do more with three quarters than most of us can do with a whole dollar."
--Peter Vescey, NY Post
Artest to sign with the Lakers
And God said, Let There Be Rock. And there was Led Zeppelin. 
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