Lakers begin repeat le quest tonight
Kevin Ding: Lakers say team is better with Ron Artest.
NBA columnist
The Orange County Register
EL SEGUNDO – Allow Kobe Bryant to tell you what he really thinks about Ron Artest, free-flow style.
"Look at his career: He demanded a trade in Indiana. OK. He had the brawl at the Palace in Detroit: Somebody threw beer on him, he made a bad decision, went up in the stands, kicked his ass. OK.
"Outside of that, what issues have you had with him? He's eccentric. OK. Carves stuff in his hair. OK. He runs around the hotel in his boxers. Right.
"But what the does that have to do with the basketball game? Absolutely nothing. When you step on that basketball court, he's a former Defensive Player of the Year. He's tough, plays hard, can pass, can shoot. All those other things have absolutely nothing to do with what he does on the basketball court.
"And what I've seen so far is a guy who works his butt off every single day and wants to do what's right for the team. It's really that simple."
Artest was the last Laker off the practice court Monday as the team concluded its preparations on the eve of the season opener. The defending champions' lone newcomer just kept shooting and shooting, even with no one left to rebound for him. The only time Artest stopped was to run over, looking like a wide-eyed boy tentatively bowing upon reaching the guru's mountaintop, when he noticed Tex Winter had appeared on the sideline for the first time since suffering a stroke six months ago.
The triangle offense's "Yoda," as Bryant calls Winter, was in good spirits and highly communicative. Artest's rookie season in Chicago came just after Winter left to join the Lakers, so they missed working together then. On Monday, Artest put a gentle arm around Winter and told him how hard he'd been working to figure out the triangle. The rarely complementary Winter told Artest he'd be fine.
It's impossible to find a single person in the Lakers' organization, in fact, who doesn't think Artest will be fine.
It has only been a month, but here is what Artest has revealed himself to be: a cross between Lamar Odom's easy off-court smile and Bryant's menacing on-court stare. Yes, you can throw in a little crazy, but ultimately Artest is entertaining and accommodating like good friend Odom while being seriously driven a la Bryant.
"He's in the gym all the time," Bryant said of Artest, whom he and Phil Jackson tried to get the Lakers to acquire in trade years ago.
Most of what Bryant has been talking to Artest about now – except for the mockery that Bryant gave Artest late in the Las Vegas game after a drunk fan startled Artest out of his seat on the bench by patting him on the back – has been basketball geek stuff.
"We really think things through, and everything has a purpose to it," Bryant said. "It's just helping him kind of adjust to our style of play and seeing the X's and O's of that and how to take advantage of it."
Even though Artest came rushing at Bryant in that Rockets-Lakers playoff game, let's be clear: Artest worships Bryant. That was obvious in the Fox Sports guest interview Artest did with Bryant two years ago ... fawning to the point of awkwardness. These days, Artest, who initially wore No. 23 in Indiana in honor of Michael Jordan, calls Bryant "the greatest to ever play the game" and says it doesn't matter what he wants, "just what Kobe wants."
Interestingly, though, a lot of what Bryant wants is what Artest wants – another reason everyone assuming the Lakers would've been better off keeping Trevor Ariza are way off base.
Let's imagine for a moment if Bryant were in Artest's shoes, coming to an established championship team. What do you think workaholic Bryant would be peeking around for and spying on during the first month with his new teammates?
"I know they took care of their bodies this summer," Artest said Monday. "That was the main thing: to see how hungry people would come back to get that second one. And you could tell guys are hungry."
For his part, Artest just completed his first NBA training camp in 11 years without missing a practice or a game. The only guy who won't be getting a ring Tuesday night came in determined to get his work done.
He has referred to getting his stupid stuff out of the way "early in his career." He has been focused on fitting in on offense, checking his exhibition assist totals more than his point totals. But starting Tuesday night, we'll see if he can't help but stand out on defense, where his ruggedness is expected to improve the Lakers most dramatically.
"Every night I look forward to playing against the best player," he said.
It's more than that, though.
If you're taking the ball in there hard against the Lakers, you see Pau Gasol and sort of shrug. You see Andrew Bynum and assume the contact will result in a foul.
You see Artest, you have fear.
Are the Lakers afraid?
"We are very, very, very close," Bryant said. "Ron has kind of fallen right into the mix with us."
[[[Even though Artest came rushing at Bryant in that Rockets-Lakers playoff game, let's be clear: Artest worships Bryant.]]]
That was obvious. A maniacal black man comes rushing at me in Maryvale, am I gonna tell him to talk to the hand? A course not. I'm gonna run over to Filibertos and ask for help,,,,,in Spanish.
That's pretty funny right thar.
que "just wait till he implodes" comments.
What Ron Artest made me surprised is that he never get injured, despite his long playing time and increasing weight.
I actually think that people are really over-hyping the idea that Artest is going to collapse the Lakers. He didn't do anything spectacular in Sacramento, but he didn't cause them to implode either. He was a pretty model teammate in Houston, despite his crazy antics in the playoffs against Kobe (his now teammate).
While he won't quite replace the same X-factor element that Ariza gave them, he's still one of a basketball player considering his combined talents. It's hard to say he won't be even more effective, but that's going to be one of the curiosities of the Lakers season: do they need another star, or do they need that guy who can make the little plays that win games? Can Artest replicate the Ariza element?
Personally, I think it's going to be a of a matchup for some teams come Spring, but that's why they play the games. Still, it's hard to say the Lakers aren't the favorites at this point.
Bryant has had to deal with Shaq, one of the greatest big men ever who had a funny personality but was lazy with his conditioning and had an easily bruised ego.
Whether or not Artest works well remains to be seen, but I think Kobe will take all of Artest's eccentricities so long as he works his ass off in the gym, practice, with conditioning, etc. over Shaq's lazy, overweight ass.
He was injured last season.
And I think for some time in Sac.
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