All things Ron Artest

[Magic Mamba]

Could Artest be on the Lakers' radar?
By
Jeff Eisenberg
on June 30, 2009 9:11 PM | Comments (1)


If either Trevor Ariza or Lamar Odom prove to be too expensive for the Lakers, one backup option could be Houston forward Ron Artest, a player Mitch Kupchak has targeted in the past.

Agent David Bauman said Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers, Cleveland Cavs and Orlando Magic were three teams he expected to join Houston in pursuit of Artest.

"Ron's tight with Kobe," Bauman said. "From a basketball perspective, the Lakers make perfect sense. Ron is a winner. His best fit is when he's on a winning team. He shoots the three, posts up smaller guys, and defensively he's a beast. Certainly those are skills a contending team would find attractive."

Bauman would not discuss salary demands for Artest, but few teams have the cap room to pay more than the mid-level exception, expected to be valued at slightly less than $6 million.

Artest has said his first choice would be to re-sign with Houston, a fact that Bauman said hasn't changed despite Yao Ming's foot injury being more serious than first believed.

"He's hopeful Yao is going to be healthy," Bauman said. "Even if Yao misses some time, Ron's confident Yao will be back on the court. It's not affecting his decision one way or the other."

Via Hoopshype
I would love to let ariza walk and sign ron artest !!!!!!!! Get it done mitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hermes]

i think it's time to give up on the artest dream

it isn't going to happen

[Magic Mamba]

i think it's time to give up on the artest dream

it isn't going to happen

I can dream can't I?

[DubaLakers]

Ron does too much iso stuff, and isn't as svelte as he used to be. He'd hurt our offensive chemisty. Trevor is a much smarter player, is athletic and in great shape and lets the game come to him, and plays full tilt from tip to buzzer.

Now that it appears KB24 is taken care of, Ariza takes priority, if he isn't signed I will be so dissapointed. Thank goodness Turkelou and RJ are pawns to feed the piranas.

[Pablo Escobar]

rather just take care of our fa's first artest has no bball iq and in the houston series he went to much 1 on 1 and he doesnt pass and his defense is becoming suspect hes getting older rather keep ariza

[joe.linnen]

I would like Artest but only if we can't sign Ariza back

[TommyTheCat]

i wouldn't like artest but if the lakers can't sign ariza i'd be more willing

[Jajwanda]

Twice as good as Ariza even with the question marks about his offensive playing style and defense. It's not even close. He's a load on the block and we'd never again see Kobe being guarded by a SF ever again.

[TommyTheCat]

Twice as good as Ariza even with the question marks about his offensive playing style and defense. It's not even close. He's a load on the block and we'd never again see Kobe being guarded by a SF ever again.

100x the headcase. i hate rooting for idiots

[The Skyhook]

Well if so many of you are against Artest even if we cant get Ariza then who do you suppose we sign. Artest does make sense. He is a lot stronger than Ariza but Ariza has that hustle we all love. If Ariza is gone I would like to see us make a run at guys like Hill, Green, and Barnes.

[RJM]

Relax Rookie...no thanks. Give me youth and talent over instability and chucking. We've got our leaders on the team already (Kobe, Pau, Lamar....and DJ) so Ron's personality would be pointless.

[Luffy]

I think Lamar Odom will definitely resign. For Ariza, we'll have some competition because he's more valued for his youth, hustle, and defense. Ron Artest is a good backup plan if we fail to resign Ariza. Artest is childhood friends with Odom and respects Kobe enough that any of his crazy antics will be kept in line.

[tkb]

Twice as good as Ariza even with the question marks about his offensive playing style and defense. It's not even close. He's a load on the block and we'd never again see Kobe being guarded by a SF ever again.

No kidding. Very underrated shooter too.

He's a strong fit for us IMO. He wouldn't go much iso with Kobe and Pau on the floor.

I love Trevor, but if we can get Artest for less than what Trevor is asking for, we'd have to look at it.

[chefy]

i think it's time to give up on the artest dream

it isn't going to happen

[Jajwanda]

Thanks for telling us I'll make sure never to bring it up again....

[tayzer]

People say Ariza is younger and more important, but I think Odom is more important the offense is better with him and he's the Lakers best rebounder.

[hermes]

i think it's time to give up on the artest dream

it isn't going to happen

I can dream can't I?

if your going to dream, why not dream of Lebron coming in for the mle?

[Rain_Maker]

if we cant resign Ariza, my first choice would be signing Jason Kidd, he would love to win a ring before retiring

[Jajwanda]

They have very little to do with each other. One we can offer the moon in salary, the other the MLE.

[pdub15]

Ariza & Odom are our primary focus. If we don't sign both than I look to S&T for Artest since he can play the 2,3,& 4 positions.