Interesting article. How in the world does this work? Seriously, at any point during last year's Finals, was anyone telling themselves, "damn, the Lakers really need Ron Artest(notes)" ?!? Apparently, for whatever reason, the Lakers are close to a deal with Ron Artest. And it makes no sense. The triangle offense demands a presence that doesn't hold onto the ball. It's an exacting thing that asks for quick decisions and smart resolutions. Why Ron Artest, in any form, would have a place in this championship-driven mess? It boggles the mind. The Lakers don't need him. His off-court palatables hardly matter. The Laker offense begs for players whose hands don't stick to the ball, and Ron's hands stick to the ball like no other. He's the wrong idea. He's a wasted face. He's the wrong choice. Let that sink in. He's the wrong choice. The Lakers, as presented during June of 2009, had no flaws. Honestly, not a single flaw, outside of defending point guards. Artest, as great as he is, solves absolutely nothing. He's a fine player, and everyone knows his name, but the Lakers don't need him. He'll spin the radio chat show fodder funk to no end, but that means absolutely nothing. He's a defensive-minded small forward heading toward a team with small forward depth and a good defensive history. The Lakers don't need Ron Artest. It's a pity that his talents don't mind that apogee. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...t=ArdrMs71W0G4678Rot9x3nc5nYcB?urn=nba,174475
I wouldnt say they were flawless. They had a lot of luck in getting to the finals and thats been a consensus. Add the major upgrades other teams have made, like the cavs, magic, spurs and they have to do something big. I dont see anything wrong.
Yes. He will not be forced to create like he was here. 3's and defense, and he is better than Ariza in both of those...And toughness. Cleveland vs LA.............This really hurts....
Ron could not coexist with Tracy? Really? Where are you getting that from? Do you see the flaws in your logic?
I think the player(s) that will lose out most from Artest joining the Lakers are Gasol and Odom. They complained about not getting the ball to Gasol enough this year - I don't see it improving for him with the extra ball-stopper on offense.
When Ron has been at his very best in this league he has been a 3rd, 4th option relegated to playing defense and banging down 3's.... Did you watch him before the Rox or Sactown?
He kind of fits with that team, he can stand still and shoot a decent percentage from 3. He can defend bigger players (e.g. Paul Pierce) that Kobe has problems with, and leave the small quick guys to Kobe. The problem is Ron's need to go into hero mode. Under control Ron would be a great asset for the Lakers, hero mode Ron would not fit at all. We only got under control Ron about 1/3 of the time in the playoffs. The Lakers are just betting that he'll defer to Kobe and Phil Jackson can motivate him.
Let's see... NBA Champions + one of the top defenders and overall two-way players in the league who happens to also work best as a 2nd or 3rd option? Yeah I'd say they'll find a way to make it work.
i hope artest does what he did for us and mess up all the plays and take control of the game on his own LOL AND KOBE smack him like he did to Gasol cuz Artest will explodeeee lol
I think Artest was brought in to set a tone for the rest of the team in terms of effort. The lakers outside of Kobe tend to take nights off. Now they have two guys cracking the whip.
The Lakers just got alot tougher defensively ALOT TOUGHER The reason we were able to hang with the lakers IMO was our two athletic and defensive minded wings Battier and Artest - Double timing the best player on the other team made us TOUGH now???? Kobe - no longer has to guard the other team's best player He can basically TMAC-it [but he won't] Artest completely Neutralizes the Jefferson Trade by the Spurs They are the team to beat next year Rocket River
*Sigh* At first, I thought of the bad things Ron brought to the team. Ball-stopping, jacking up shots. Then I realized, he was our #2 option. All he has to do is play hard-nosed defense. And he brings in the hustle, energy, and toughness.
I honestly don't see this working unless Artest changes a lot to what we saw here. Firstly look what happened when you have two ball stoppers on the court(T-Mac and Artest) it was damn painful to watch and now they have the exact same thing, his D is on the decline... I just can't see how it improves them besides adding some toughness... perhaps now they won't need to play dirty in a poor attempt to look strong.
I'm eagerly awaiting to see what happens when Artest goes off the deep end and starts jacking up ill-advised shots when something flips (or slips) in his noggin'. lol. Who knows, maybe he can reign his nuttiness in.
I see the real reason Ron Artest went to the Lakers. He wanted his piece at Kobe, and he's going to implode the team. All of this was a calculated move by Morey, with some cash incentive to Artest, to destroy the Lakers. In Morey we trust!
He will probably fit in fine this coming year. It's year 2 and 3 that things will probably go all bonkers with Ron - and Phil could care less about those years since he won't be there to deal with them I think.
Exactly. Artest is sent to the Lakers to mess up their chemistry. To answer the title question: Artest does not fit with any offense. He is kind of like much biger and clumsier version of Iverson. He either jack up a 3 or forces his way to the basket. I can't wait to see how Kobe deals with him.
