Wrong. Artest doesn't have to be a role player for this team. There's enough opportunities for him in the triangle where he won't be complaining about getting shots. He's also a much better defender than Ariza is and a better shooter. The Lakers got plenty better with this signing. This is just you being a delusional Rockets fan trying to trick yourself in to thinking that you got the better end of this swap.
If we lose, I think it is because the East is stacked this season. Bynum was hurt, so was Manu. Same old stuff but you have to play through it. It was simply our time, it'll be tough to repeat but Artest is clearly better to me and I think we have as good a shot as anyone. I would assume a sig bet is a guarantee? It is cool don't worry, not a big deal. :] KG hurt or not, we pounded them pretty good even though they were on double digit win streaks. Bynum was a scrub again, didn't matter though thankfully. :]
no, i don't think the rockets got the better end of the swap. i think artest is definitely the better player. i think as it is, neither team has improved. there is no winner to this swap. if yao can get healthy or the rockets can pick up another star player, then i think the rockets will have the upper hand because they will have gotten a good role player that they need. but until then, i don't think the rockets have gotten the better of the exchange. i've said many times during the offseason that i didn't want the rockets to bring back artest. you can probably find it in artest threads in the portland section and maybe in the houston section here(and definitely the houston section at bbf). artest isn't worth his trouble.
are you saying that i made a sig bet? because i definitely did not. or that i should make one now? a sig bet putting one team against the field is pretty lame in my opinion. it's pretty unnecessary too. all the relevant people will know who was right in this instance. though if you want to make one, i guess i won't refuse.
We did make a bet months before, you just forgot lol. I think it is because you like BBF more and other subforums, and have your mind elsewhere. ;]
Has Artest played with Kobe and Pau? He's in a much better situation, that'll be the difference. Ariza is probably the one that will take more time to adjust.
I don't see how you can say that the Lakers are getting the better player and not getting better. It doesn't make sense to me. Artest is better, as you just admitted here, and will buy in to the Lakers system. Kobe and Phil will make damn sure of that. He adds a layer of defensive intensity to the Lakers that they simply didn't have these past few years and gives them a stopper that isn't named Kobe Bryant. As long as he doesn't go crazy on us, which I don't think he will since he respects Phil and Kobe a lot, we're going to turn out to be a much better team with this deal. You don't add a player of Artest's ability and get worse, you just don't.
I just find your comment of a lateral movement to be full of shit. You and scared Portland fans are the only ones who think it is a lateral movement. Saying Artest only keeps us as good as we were with Ariza is just silly. I can't take you seriously when you spew bull shit like that.
is zach randolph between than quentin richardson? yes, but i don't think memphis improved. is shaq better than wally and ben wallace? yes, but i don't think cleveland improved(and you said basically the same thing). getting a better player doesn't always make a team improve if they don't fit the team. the sixers added elton brand last offseason and were a worse team when he played than when he didn't.
artest played his worst basketball when he was playing with both tmac and yao. granted, tmac was clearly less than 100%, but artest was not successful at all in that situation. ariza definitely will have to adjust and i think it probably will be a very rough first year for him in houston.
The Grizzlies might actually get better with that acquisition. They play a style of basketball where defense isn't really necessary, and he's got all sorts of offensive talents that most people his size don't. I do agree with the Shaq thing, though he was traded for Sasha Pavlovic and Wallace, not Wally, they let him walk. But the difference between you and me is that I think Ron will fit in just fine with the Lakers. There's going to be plenty of shots for him because of the way the triangle operates and he's going to give them the defensive stopper they need that's not named Kobe. Plus, he respects both Kobe and Phil, which is the main reason why I don't think he'll cause problems. The other reason, if you watched his interview, he took a paycut to come to LA to win a title. He knows what he's getting in to here. He probably could have made more money to go play elsewhere, but he's to the point where he's got to be itching for a title. He's going on 30 and not getting any younger and knows that this is probably going to be the best shot at a title for him.
my mistake. same basic concept though. it's not about him causing problems. i don't think he's going to have any off the court issues and i don't think he's going to do anything "crazy" on the court just like he didn't on the rockets. the problem is the artest needs to have the ball in his hands and needs to have free reign for him to really be as effective in other parts of his game. i don't think he fits as the role player the lakers need in that spot. artest couldn't have made more money anywhere. the rockets were only offering him one year and no team was talking to him that could offer more than the mle. he can say he's taking a pay cut if it makes him feel better, but that isn't the reality.
This is what, day 3 of the FA period? Offers could have populated at some point, who knows. And he did take a paycut. He made about $7.5mil last year and will be making roughly $6mil annually with this contract. I won't deny that he does need the ball at times, but players can evolve. He's got a good jump shot and there's going to be plenty of good looks for him because of the offense. He's also going to have the opportunity to dominate the ball when Kobe goes to the bench,because I imagine he could get quite a bit of burn with the 2nd unit to give them a top scoring option.
he took a paycut from what he made last season, but he was going to do that regardless. the only team with the space to offer artest a bigger contract than the lakers that was a realistic destination was portland and really, i don't think that was all that realistic. with their focus on character guys, i don't think artest fits the mold of a player they would go after. if you're hoping for artest to evolve, i think you're going to be let down. he was on title contending indiana teams and would complain that he wasn't a big enough part of the offense. that's just the kind of player that artest is. and it's not like he started forcing things in the playoffs after yao went down. he took just as many bad shots regardless of whether yao was on the floor or not.
