Ever since LA lost to the Boston in the Finals, l have been shouting ''Artest for Odom so by the opening statement I am pro-Crazy Pills.

As you gather your thoughts, let me give mine and start with the obvious: Ron Artest is as tough as you can ever imagine.

There are the cons of having Ron Artest in your team:
1) Sometimes goes into a poor imitation of ''Mamba Mode'' and takes his team out of the game.
2) He used 24.8% of the Houston possessions last year and in this playoffs. He averages above 23% since 2002. The Triangle O as we all know maximizes every single possession by just passing the ball until there is an open man ready to shoot, and Artest might contrast just that.
3)He is an a-hole. And by that, he does not fear everyone, officials, referees, coaches, players, and staff. He has been mayhem since Day 1 in his NBA career. That is why he got the nickname Crazy Pills. He sometimes get into his self-destruction mode.
4)He is sometimes uncoachable, in fact, often times unteachable. He does what ''he knows'' is right and should be right.
5) He is a bad teammate.

That 5 criterias would have been every coaches' nightmare.
But the good side is that it is all curable, and we've seen a bit of that last year with the Rockets.

And sometimes we forget how Phil Jackson tamed the worst animal NBA has ever seen, Dennis Rodman, in fact turning him into a media darling soon after he collaborates with the Zen is plan.

Truth be told, although Artest could not grab that many rebounds unlike Rodman, he is a better overall player than him.
The previous 5 reasons that l gave is the previous 5 reasons why almost everyone in Lakerlandia would not have him at all.

But let is see:
1) Sometimes goes into a poor imitation of ''Mamba Mode'' and takes his team out of the game.
2) He used 24.8% of the Houston possessions last year and in this playoffs. He averages above 23% since 2002. The Triangle O as we all know maximizes every single possession by just passing the ball until there is an open man ready to shoot, and Artest might contrast just that.

Both of these are correct.but you have to take the fact that there was no Tracy McGrady that would gladly take the ''Pressure Shots'' (i.e. crunch time, end of the quarter shots, end of the shot clock shots). And Artest was the only one to stand up in these young and pesky Rockets. Now, with Kobe being the leader, the ''Pressure Shots'' is taken away from him, and all he has to do now is follow the TO, and you can find more open looks from him.



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3)He is an a-hole. And by that, he does not fear everyone, officials, referees, coaches, players, and staff. He has been mayhem since Day 1 in his NBA career. That is why he got the nickname Crazy Pills. He sometimes get into his self-destruction mode.
4)He is sometimes uncoachable, in fact, often times unteachable. He does what ''he knows'' is right and should be right.
5) He is a bad teammate.

The last 3 points are bittergourds in a loaded Rocky Road ice cream.
But we all know, Kobe was the same person Ron was (in terms of attitude) a couple of years ago. But that is because he has every right to do just that. His work ethic, although only next to Kobe's, is so gritty and extreme that he is putting pressure on his teammates by being on the same page with him. So by the time Ron gets to the Lakers, he would never have a problem with guys regarding work ethics because Kobe already set the tone in this team.

But the most important part is this:
Ariza was great, but would he have been great this year?
Yes l like him, but would he be like Sasha, being great last year, and after a contract extension, never to be seen again, the Machine losing some lubricants to pursue?

This deal is perfect in a sense that they are getting a guy who sets the ''tough'' tone in every game. This is a guy who is far more consistent than TA, that you can expect him to play ''A'' every night.
Sources said that he would ink a 5-year deal with LA, the last 2 years is a choice to opt-out.

Ariza wanted more than the MLE, but Artest wanted the ring more.
Tell me, who is gonna pay $7 million to a guy who we do not know would have another good year in the NBA?
Artest took the offer at $18 million in 3 years, that is $6M per year!!
Imagine you get that kind of superstar at a very low price than take a risk at getting a ''superstar-in-the-making-or-bust'' at $7M!

Great deal, Artest does everything Ariza did only better & he is perfect for guarding someone like Melo, LeBron, VC or Pierce. The only concern is chemistry but l think Artest knows he is the 3rd best player on this team at best & he has to play off Kobe/Gasol instead of creating like he did in Houston/Sac-town. If Cleveland had landed Artest it would have made an a very formidable team but thank God that did not work out.

Ariza was an vital part of our championship & we need someone like him to take pressure off Kobe on defense l would have liked if he came back but he is young & it is understandable he would go after the money.

long post but l mostly agree with you. good deal

Artest was teamed as a teenager With Lamar Odom
.they where friends during there teenage times
thats Crazy!

since the Lakers signed Artest l think that they have greatly decreased their chances of resigning Lamar Odom. l think that Lamar Odom will sign elsewhere now is because his minutes will be gone. Artest is a star & will most likely get 33+ minutes a night. It was far simpler last season for the Lakers since Ariza was a lockdown player & Odom provided a point forward off the bench. With Artest coming in, Odom would get less minutes & he would not have the ball as much since Artest likes to dominate the ball. Odom knows this & the lakers do not have money at the moment so it is evident that this trade will either help them or hurt them.

l think its terrible. as a suns fan im already pissed at what is going on in phoenix, then l heard about this and got even more pissed. having 3 all stars and 1 potential all star is practically cheating! the nba is gonna be so boring, even the laker fans will think so. they will blow out most games they win. l think this was just a terrible thing 2 happen in the nba

great article!!! l agree with u on every single point.he has cons, but the lakers have many leaders to keep him in check, and when lakers play teams like nuggets, celtics, and cavs they wont have to wonder who they r going to put on paul pierce, lebron james, and carmelo anthony.man this team is going to be a great defense team l can smell it

All l need to say is that signing Artest is 1 way of reapeating another championship on the paper

He is terrific defender,shooter and all around player.If his attutude was not so bad he would have been a Top 10 player right now.So the Lakers made the right move to pass the Lakers


Darko