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Good read

Ariza changing his jersey to No. 1? I like it!

If we don't re-sign Ariza, I will quit being a Laker fan.

^^he's gonna be back... hopefully with a smoothed out jumper and a ring to show for this years work.

Why did he wear 4 at UCLA, does anyone know if someone else already had 1 then?

Honestly I think of Ariza as our silent ENFORCER.
I love his energy and his game, the only thing that has been pissing me off is his threes he tends to shoot when we need a bucket, other than that we need to resign him next year, he is definantly a great addition to this team and if you really think about how we obtained him then you realize what a great contributor he is and he will be to this team.

Wait ..... He can't take number 1.

That's Smush Parkers Number

Changing numbers mid season? Weird.

I LOVE YOU TREVOR!

Good article. We need more of that. When we literally threw away the series to the Celtics in '84 all the boys did day & night was concentrate on getting back to the Finals & beating them because they knew Boston would be there. That's the same feeling I'm getting from this team, players like Sasha & Trevor coming right out & saying they hate these guys means that they will be focused whenever they play them

He is the difference maker

Ariza is great... he is challenging LO for best bench player and may be winning. I still give LO the nod because of experience, length, rebounding and intangibles but Arizas athleticism is truly amazing. He is a walking highlight reel.

nice read. REALLY hoping he's signed back here next season.

Ya, I don't see how they WON'T sign Ariza. His agent will push for MLE numbers, and I see the Lakers giveing him the same contract that Sasha got, with MLE salary but over 3 years not 5. It makes me sick that we gave someone like Luke a 6 year contract with that type of money. We don't even know if Phil is going to come back after next year. If we don't run the triangle anymore, Luke will be rendered useless. Absolutely useless.

On a sidenote. If Phil does in fact retire, And we resign Kobe, and Pau. I do see Jerry Buss give Kurt the nod at Coach and continues to run the Triangle in LA until the Kobe Pau and Bynum Trio runs it's course. It's the perfect offense for these guys and allows them adequate spacing for them to operate. Especially with the passing abilities of the three, I don't see the triangle going anywhere even if Phil leaves.

you can bet on us running the triangle ad nauseum even if phil leaves

either shaq or rambis would step into the head role if phil ever decided hed had enough

shaq coach??

Phil will be back for sure as long as Kobe is in full swing.. He wants his 10th and 11th title as much as Kobe wants his 4th and 5th

Brain Shaw would get the nod if Phil declines.. Rambis has had a failed run so it is highly unlikely..

Shaq may sign up with Lakers as a min salary Free Agent..

Akiho wrote:you can bet on us running the triangle ad nauseum even if phil leaves

either shaq or rambis would step into the head role if phil ever decided hed had enough

Ariza is a winner, high IQ player, hustler that has a brass nutsack, must be re-signed or I'll blow a lid. I love his game.

I just hope he won't want too much money, because I fear Mitch might pay him too much. Ariza's somewhat reckless style of play (in combination with fragile body build) warrants a slight red flag. I'd hate to see us lock him up for top dollar, while letting somebody else go, only to see him go down long term. He and G Wallace and D Wade and a few more are all in a similar risk category. They all hit the floor and screens all night long as if nothing can harm them. Regardless of how much we love watching his fearless game, if we re-sign him, he has to start developing a reliable mid range jumper and build some protective muscle tissue.

i think the fact that Ariza hasn't demanded the starting spot, over luke or vlad is a good sign
he seems to be a low-key player, and doesn't seem like he would demand a whole bunch of money

imo ariza is just a winner. he won't do anything to mess up chemsitry. i don't think he will demand some outrageous number for his next contract. the lakers will be fair and he will retire a laker...