You love it now. Rockets fans were over the MOON when they got Artest. Funny they didn't make a huge effort to keep him, isn't it? Yes. Yes you will. And probably while watching Artest play.
You don't think Artest is going to stay in line with Jackson and Kobe watching his every move? I think its obvious he wants to win a ring. He could have signed somewhere for more money. Taking the MLE to win a ring, or at least a shot at it.
I've heard conflicting stories about whether or not Artest has even been offered anything by the Lakers. He's overrated. Better offensive player than Ariza, sure, but not as good on the defensive end anymore. And there's going to be a lot of jump shots taken between him and Kobe... I think Odom is better, so it'll be interesting to see if they resign him.
Do you think Artest is a rookie fresh out of college, ready to follow his seniors / betters? Artest has a history of exploding. Who knows, maybe he'll keep it together in LA, but that was a fairly baseless presumption to make, IMO (no offense). I think Artest will do well on D, I am still suspect as to his abilities on O. But what does it matter? According to some Blazer fans I might as well sell all my stock and prepare for armageddon now as the Lakers have signed Artest. Woe is us!
Yeah ESPN was pretty slow, Bucher in this case. Then a few minutes after Ric said that he wasn't sure, the story broke on various outlets. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4303679
the thing is when the rockets got artest, there was very little risk involved as he only had one year left on his deal and they needed him because yao/tmac couldn't stay healthy and they were trying to contend. by getting artest, the rockets only needed 2 of the 3 to stay healthy to make noise in the playoffs. yes, the rockets lost two late first round picks but that wasn't really a huge thing. the rockets did the right thing only offering artest a one year deal. people remember his good games in the playoffs and that the rockets got out of the first round, but he had even more terrible games. if the lakers are really signing artest to a 3 year deal, i think that's something they'll regret. phil should be one of the better coaches possible for artest, but i still don't see anyone changing the way he plays at this point.
The Lakers are the NBA Champs. This could back fire just as easy. They are not getting him to put them over the top. They are already there. This could back fire.
If this is true it's a great move for LA. Best part? 3 year/18 Mil. (what's being reported) That's the kind of money Ariza was going to cost them. Artest is leaps and bounds better than Ariza. Sure Artest is older, but the Lakers championship window is now. Kobe probably has 3-5 more dominant years and that's what they're looking at. As far as Ron Ron being a malcontent . . . yes, and no. He's imploded at times, but not for the usual reasons (playing time, amount of shots he's getting, etc) The guy just hates to lose. I don't think he cares if he scores 9 points/game if the Lakers win a title. I honestly think this makes sense for both parties. Just sucks for everybody else who HATES the Lakers.
Do we need Oden to step it up, or what?? Oden is still the X-factor, no matter who we bring in. If he has a coming-out party this season, we will be in terrific shape. If he continues to struggle, it's going to be another season of playoff failure, I'm afraid.
Yeah, Oden is the X-factor whether or not we compete with the big boys. We still need to be agressive in pursuing talent. "Letting it Bake". Fuck that, get some real talent....what was once a shoo-in "dynasty" on the thoughts of the blazers is now "wait until the awesome mega-teams fuck up or get old".
All they're missing from what they have now is Trevor Ariza who was inconsistent throughout the year but had a great playoffs. You add a PREMIER DEFENDER in the league and ANOTHER guy who can get points with no worries on that team....scary good. Even if he's in a second unit....it gives them a legit scorer on the second unit (versus what they usually had when Kobe and Gasol sits out).
Excellent point. I'm definitely starting to see the need for a serious upgrade. If the Lakers get Artest, we're even further behind them than we were last year. That said, Oden MUST improve. I just don't see us going anywhere without a healthy and productive Greg Oden.
You may be right, but he also may screw up their chemistry. If Artest does not conform to their offense he will be a negative distraction. He does like to free lance.
