1.) Phil & Jordan were able to keep Rodman under control.
2.) Kobe has always wanted Ron. And guess what, although it may not look like it right now, they are good friends too. Kobe became a better offensive player because he was able to bring Ron over for practice and one on one’s during the off season. Can you imagine how many games they’ve played together. They’ve been playing ball all the way back since they were in high school.

3.) If you’re the Lakers, would you want another team such as the Cavs to get Ron. I think not. So it was a great protective move.

4.) Ariza’s D is great, but Ron’s is better. Yes I know the steals really showed off Ariza’s brilliance, but really Ron can guard 1-4, and is a stopper. Literally a “guy not named Kobe” stopper. Imagine what he can do against Melo (someone should look up those stats.

5.) With Ron and Kobe’s D, games won’t be so close thus not requiring Ariza’s clutchness.

I think this is a move all about taking the pressure off Kobe on the defensive end (and sometimes as the creator offensively, too). Artest doesn’t need to be the alpha dog – as long as he respects the alpha dogs on his team. I think he’s got a little time for Kobe’s skills (Pau’s too).

Just take a look at stats per 36 (first column Ariza, second Artest):

Reb 6.3 5.3
Stl 2.5 1.5
Ast 2.6 3.4
TO 1.6 2.1
TS% .54 .51
USG% .17 .24

Artest is less efficient shooter used to use a lot of possessions. Ariza uses less possessions _and_ produces more of them (more Reb, Stl, less TO).

Then there is the defense. I doubt if Ariza is a worse defender than Artest – at least at this stage of their careers.

Lastly, the age. Artest is going down, Ariza is going up.

I really don’t know why Lakers have chosen Artest. Even the money is equal.

Yes, I’m a Lakers fan and I’m sad.

Ron Artest is physically strong in a way that Trevor Ariza will never be. Other than that, however, Ron Artest is simply not as good a fit with the 2009-2010 version of the LakeShow as T-Ariza – who is more lithe, quicker, taller, and a better shooter, driver, defender and complementary teammate.

I agree with Yams in that Artest is an upgrade defensively against the likely targets the Lakers see themselves matching up against. The Lakers are still going to be shredded by the Chris Pauls and Deron Williamses of the world, but even with Ariza they were getting shredded. Also, it can’t be underestimated how much this is going to benefit Kobe. I know the legend of Kobe is that he works so hard he never gets tired and when he hits the wall he runs right through it but let’s be honest here. He was running on fumes at the end and his defensive responsibilities weren’t helping matters. This at least makes sure that Kobe only defends other people “in his own weight class” to use his own words.

Also, the potential comedic interactions between Artest and Morrison or Artest and Vujacic simply cannot be overstated.

That said, Artest is definitely a huge risk for the Lakers, even if Odom re-signs (which I suspect he will). Artest is going to have to defer on offense the way Ariza did or he’s going to muck up LA’s potent offense just like you say he might. On the other hand, if Aftest can somehow control himself (or the Lakers coaches or players can control him) and can get him to mesh with the offense, then he’d actually be a better fit than Ariza was. Artest is a better outside shooter when he’s wide open than Ariza is, and Artest has a rather superb post game, whereas Ariza had none.

Defensively Ariza is probably more versatile, as he can guard the 1, 2 or 3, while Artest really can only effectively guard the 3 (and maybe against bigger 2s or small 4s); but the key here is that Artest is better at guarding the 3 than Ariza is. This will especially be true when the Lakers play Cleveland and Boston, who both feature players (LeBron and Pierce, respectively) who are probably too big for Ariza to reasonably contain. Same goes for Denver with Melo, and to a lesser extent, maybe Orlando with Vince.

If Ariza can contain himself and fall in line, then he’s arguably the perfect piece for this Laker team. But odds are quite slim that Artest will fall in line the way he should, so it very well could end in disaster.

Personally, I’m glad Mitch decided to stick it to that idiot David Lee who managed to bone the Lakers out of some money on Andrew Bynum. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? You’re fired.

I’m a little skeptical about Ron’s play. But the whole “WILL HE GO CRAZY?” speech seems to happen all the time for Ron now and I think its overdone. Ron had some issues with hucking the ball in Houston BECAUSE he was the alpha dog. You think he’s gonna have issues like that with Kobe on the team? I sure as hell don’t. Ron will need time to work into the system, but there’s a good chance he will by the ’10 playoffs…afterall he DEFINITELY has something to prove now. And defense? LA has the best perimeter defense in the game as well as a pretty strong inside presence with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Toughness? A laughable question for the Lakers now who just added a pitbull to a championship roster. Talent? The only question there is “is it too much”?

Again, thank David Lee.