Ric Bucher: Rockets among free agency winners

I must agree with Ric here, and not only because I am a Rockets fan. We gave up Artest, whos ability has definitely decreased due to age and wear and tear on his body. We gained Ariza, who is a much younger version of Ron, but not as much of a troublemaker. I do admit though that the Rockets will miss the toughness that Artest brought to the team. Although, not many people seem to realize that Ariza played a huge role for the Lakers in their championship run (Ron Artest was key for us too but I'm just pointing out Ariza here). Almost every time the Lakers needed a big 3 pointer, and Kobe didn't shoot it, it seemed like Ariza would make it. Also, Ariza was great on defense, as he forced Ron to shoot up a lot of junk during the series. Overall, I thought we made a smart move for the road ahead.