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So I come home and see that Artest says he will sign will LA lakers. The quote was on hoopsworld. personally, I hope its just artest being artest and running his mouth, but I have a feeling he will go there. Its a sad day to see an Ex-King go to the lakers and pretty much lock them into a championship.

Seriously, does anyone know how to change your user name? I cant use a laker for my name.

I don't know if this is real or not but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.

From what I here from the Lakers board is it is 3 years for the full MLE. Not the most reliable of sources, but it is what it is.

artest is one of my favorite players....i dont care where he goes, honestly....but i still hate the lakers and will always.

It's on ESPN, so it looks pretty offical.

meh, not exactly all that surprising that he's going to the Lakers. Part of me thinks, though, that his ego along with Kobe's will quickly cause "lockeroom issues".

Figures. Kobe is too scared to go 1on1 with Artest, so he has the Lakers sign him.

Artest will still murder him.

F*** me in the beard.

Wont cheer for him in that uniform.

How Ronnie? I remember that lakers game where Ron came out with that "Tru Warrior" hair cut. Im just shocked right now.

I was really hoping that he would sign with Cleveland, so I could root for them if they played against the Lakers in the finals...but now, the NBA will DEFINATELY push for the Lakers vs Cleveland...

Fisher vs Williams
Kobe vs West?
Artest vs Lebron
Gasol vs Sheed?
Bynum vs Shaq

The Cavs better hope they get Sheed or someone else to help out Lebron, though.

KM44 wrote:F*** me in the beard.

my thoughts exactly. How could you do this to me Ron?

Why Ron?

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/fysv ... Poop-mouth

Artest sold his soul. I thought there was tension between Kobe and Ron, and on top of that thought Kobe would not want to jepordize his team's chemistry with an ego like that. Guess I was wrong. I have the same feeling as KIE that this will cause issues rather quickly.

How many rings did Jackson win with Rodman? You can't say Ron is worse than Rodman.

I don't think this gives them a major boost honestly. Ariza was perfect role player for lakers. Played great D, hit spot up three's and ran the break well. He was great because he didn't demand the ball or need it to be effective, plus it seemed he worked well under the "Kobe's".

Artest may work, he will play better D, but his ego & need of touches will hurt the lakers IMO. You have Gasol/Kobe who obviously need touches (they don't give it to Gasol enough IMO). Then you have Odom (if he returns) and trying to work in Bynum & develop him.

Where does Artest fit into that equation? 2nd option? 3rd? 4th? Will he follow Kobe's direction? I mean lets be honest, Kobe coach's the team as much as Phil does, if not more so. There were timeouts in the playoffs where it was Kobe drawing up a play and giving direction the team. It is possible Artest wants a ring bad enough to be a good boy, but if history has proven anything, he could just as likely blow up as well.

IMO, the lakers were better off re-signing Ariza. He came up big in the playoffs & in the finals. We'll see, but I personally hope Artest goes down there and reeks terror on that teams chemistry.

But who knows? Maybe it will be a great steal.

I'm surprised that Artest is willing to play for only $6 million a year. He must really want to be in L.A. and compete for a ring. Its kinda funny when you see a guy like Artest (probably a $9 million guy at this point in his career) taking this kind of money and seeing scrubs like Varejao and Bynum demanding more.

Artest doesn't have many teams fighting for his services so the money isn't going to be there. I'm happy for him. Artest also needs to be around veterans. He can't play with people that aren't on his talent level.

ICMTM wrote:Artest doesn't have many teams fighting for his services so the money isn't going to be there. I'm happy for him. Artest also needs to be around veterans. He can't play with people that aren't on his talent level.

Well, the only teams fighting for his services are contenders, which only have the MLE hanging around. Houston should have used it's leverage to Sign and Trade Artest to a team like Cleveland and nabbed a JJ Hickson/pick and expiring out of it(similar to what we got for Ron-Ron.

Then Ron could have gotten a little more money, Houston got some assets, and would have sent him eastward to only see him twice instead of 4 times a year.

Im personally happy for Ron, and the Lakers. I dont hold any bitterness towards the Lakers anymore, there are 2 players left from the old Kings/Lakers rivalry. Im a Kobe fan. Hopefully Ron will work out for the Lakers. I loved him as a King, I now love him as a Laker.

Glad no one even started a "Bring Ron back to Sacto" thread

I hope Ron wins a chip with the Lakers. (Even though, it makes cringe to see the Lakers win it all again. So much Laker banners here.)