Artest Says He's Signing with Lakers

[baseline bum]

I'm not a big Artest fan (while I am a huge Ariza fan), but his volatility might actually be less of a risk than the chance Ariza is a one hit wonder. This pretty much ensures they bring Odom back, and can afford to overpay a bit if absolutely necessary.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

They have no compe ion resigning Odom. No other team is going after him.

[Medvedenko]

Hmmmm.....I've been thinking a lot about this trade....while I'll miss Ariza and his selfless play and great D, you can't deny Artest being the 3-4th option. Having him on the court with Odom for the second unit will be sick. You now have a guy on the perimeter who can make plays, spell Kobe for a couple of minutes a quarter as well. I like it, and I have no worries that he won't be held in check. We got tougher, more experienced, a better scorer and defender as well. Oh, and we got Phil as well to manage these egos.

Kobe
Artest
Odom
Pau
Bynum....


Nuff said.

[Kobe™]

Only the Lakers are able to land a guy like this for the MLE. LA has it all. City life, hollywood, and what it says on the jersey and the tradition of that organization is why they are able to pull this off. It is something about just being a Laker. Great signing for LA. IMO Artest wouldnt have signed for the MLE anywhere else. The Lakers are that one exception.The best team in the league got even better.

[cheney212]

every player falls into the lakers in lap

[GuerillaBlack]

As for the news today, forget you Ron Artest. Signing for $18 million for three years? Really? I wouldn't care if it was to the Cavs, but the LAKERS? After that series we had with them? I could see it coming, but didn't want to believe it. Artest has been in LA since we lost to them. , I even saw him there last week and was wondering why he was still in LA. But $18 million for three years? We couldn't offer him that, instead of just the one year deal? Morey has disappointed this off-season.

Amazing how one player can ruin an ENTIRE team's offseason. If the report had came out that Yao Ming had recovered or was recovering well, Ron Artest would probably be signing with the Rockets.

[Kobe™]

He wants that ring^

[Allanon]

If the report had came out that Yao Ming had recovered or was recovering well, Ron Artest would probably be signing with the Rockets.

I think you nailed it.

I think that report + Morey's 1 year only offer pretty much sealed his departure. I'm guessing the 1 year was a couple $milion more than MLE but Morey wouldn't commit the team past a year. He's probably waiting on LeBron in 2010.

[IronMexican]

Guerilla, it can't be Morey's fault. Have you not seen Inda foam his mouth at the though of him(Morey)?

[sook]

Guerilla, it can't be Morey's fault. Have you not seen Inda foam his mouth at the though of him(Morey)?

Its Les the owner's fault, he gives morey chump change to pull rabbits out of a hat

[Spurtacus]

Might as well hand the Fakers the 2010 championship. Artest for the MLE. Incredible.

[j.dizzle]

whoever says this is a bad move is a dumb..I really liked Ariza but dude wasnt as good as some ppl here think. He made a couple nice steals & a few nice threes in the playoffs but we're talking about freakin Ron Artest for MLE! Most Laker fans wanted Artest for odom last season but now they are most likely gonna have both hahaha wow this is pretty crazy..Ariza was weak too, he was too skinny to guard big players like Melo & Lebron. Artest is straight muscle. With kobe & Pau on the floor, Ariza got no respect from defenders so every shot he made was wide open.

[Lars]

Well its not like we offered him a multi year deal. I guess it was pretty clear we just didnt want him anymore.

[Double-Up]

I wish we could have at least signed and traded him for something...now we lose out twice.

[21_Blessings]

I wish we could have at least signed and traded him for something...now we lose out twice.

You're getting Ariza

[Findog]

Ariza for Artest? Houston wins that exchange. Not a big fan of a guy who is a crazy ballstopper. Can Phil and Kobe keep him on a tight leash? Who knows...but I doubt it. Ariza is younger and was a perfect fit in the triangle. Artest? We'll have to wait and see. I'm a big believer in "If it aint broke, don't fix it."

[Findog]

As for the news today, forget you Ron Artest. Signing for $18 million for three years? Really? I wouldn't care if it was to the Cavs, but the LAKERS? After that series we had with them? I could see it coming, but didn't want to believe it. Artest has been in LA since we lost to them. , I even saw him there last week and was wondering why he was still in LA. But $18 million for three years? We couldn't offer him that, instead of just the one year deal? Morey has disappointed this off-season.

Amazing how one player can ruin an ENTIRE team's offseason. If the report had came out that Yao Ming had recovered or was recovering well, Ron Artest would probably be signing with the Rockets.

I think you're getting the better end of this exchange.

[Spurtacus]

[024]

artest is a better fit for the rockets and ariza is a better fit for the lakers. both teams lose. rockets, slightly more since they need a scorer, not that artest is that great offensively.

[Spurs da champs]

Ron Artest is a wierd ass fool. He's unpredictable that might ruin the lakers team chemistry. Him and Kobe are gonna be worse then Shaq-kobe.

[iggypop123]

every player falls into the lakers in lap

richard jefferson.....

[Allanon]

Ron Artest is a wierd ass fool. He's unpredictable that might ruin the lakers team chemistry. Him and Kobe are gonna be worse then Shaq-kobe.

Yah, he is a weird ass fool

Artest loves Kobe to the point where it's a little "awkward". Ron's a bit crazy but I think he's always been a great teammate with great chemistry with his team. It's the opponents that get to him, not his team.

[iilluzioN]

richard jefferson.....

he means every ing superstar

[Spurs da champs]

Artest loves Kobe to the point that it's a little "awkward".

Sure he does Kobe gets pissed off when teamates make mistakes you've see what he's done to gasol and that guy on their team last year forgot his name. How do you think Artest is going to respond to that?
The lakers f*cked themselves by signing him. You'll see as the season advances. Like I said worse then shaq-kobe.

[Allanon]

Sure he does Kobe gets pissed off when teamates make mistakes you've see what he's done to gasol and that guy on their team last year forgot his name. How do you think Artest is going to respond to that?
The lakers f*cked themselves by signing him. You'll see as the season advances. Like I said worse then shaq-kobe.

I think there are 3 guys in the NBA that can yell at Ron and him be cool with it. Kobe, LeBron and Duncan.

But we'll see.