I'll be damned if he doesn't mess up the pecking order, flow, and vibe of the team.

But on the flip side, if there's anyone who can coach with those dynamics, its Phil.

Still....do not want....

REPOST:

Sorry but I MUST reiterate. Picture the below in great big capital letters because really, I'm screaming this:

Mamba24 - we need to start a "If you're advocating the Lakers getting Bill Testes, you need to get some freaking therapy before you jump off the ledge" bandwagon.

JUST SAY NO to Bill Bill Testes. The guy is a freaking lunatic. WHY would you want to add a great big heaping dose of volatile idiot to our championship team?? EVEN IF we lose a FA (and I do believe that's a great big IF) you cannot add crazy to this mix and expect good things to come from it. And by crazy, I mean plastic pants wearing, rubber sheet sleeping, straight jacket owner, crazy.

Where is the info about a contract to Trevor?

The Lakers should have already submitted one.

Let TA go.

Re-sign LO

convince Crazy-Pills to sign to the MLE.

give SB a qualifying offer.

Profit.

Artest?

Only if we loose Ariza though I'm sure that the fake and wannabe Drew Rosenhaus/Scott Boras aka David Lee will find the market for Ariza will being many no doubt (as many mid-level exception only teams would love to have him) won't be as big because 1) Few teams are willing to go beyond the mid-level for him and 2) most of those teams (Detroit and Portland) already has a young athletic Small Forward in Batum and Travis Outlaw.

So no to Ron Ron unless we loose Ariza and if we can snag Artest for the mid-level exception heck watch out.

I'm not going to say no...

Dollar for dollar, Artest is the better player. We'd gain a defensive edge by replacing LO with Ron Ron; he'd be a lot more consistent.

But we'd lose a versatile piece at the 4, with the loss of height and loss of boards, and his experience in the triangle.

It would probably wind up being equal, with some risk (that he'll take too many shots, disrupt the locker room, etc) - and that's why we'd prefer to keep LO. But I'm saying that if we're talking about equal dollars, then I wouldn't get too upset if they swapped pieces out.

Having said that, It's not going to happen, and if Ron wanted it to happen, then he should have opted out last summer - he blew it.

Don't even breathe this Guy's name. He is the devil - in-disguise.
No way does the storied franchise of the Lakers need this self absorbed psychotic.
Tech. fouls and suspension would increase 2-fold and the reputation of this team diminished.
There are waaaay better options out there if--- (g for bid) LO n Tariza can't stay put.

If we dont get back Ariza, I am not too averse to getting Ron-Ron.. I mean Artest is a knuckle-head but he cant be worse than Rodman..

LGFI

If Ariza or LO go somewhere else, Artest would be a fantastic addition. But only if one of the two go elsewhere.

crap. i had a nice long post arguing for replacing 'i love la' and it all went 'poof' if anybody sees it floating around, please return it to phred, c/o the times lakers blog. i'll rewrite it later, i guess. Posted by: phred | July 01, 2009 at 09:51 AM

ANY REWARD FOR FINDING IT?

ok, some prediction updates. nothing wrong with the originals, but hey, if I can skew my results further, why not? hollinger does it all the time.

David Lee goes to memphis. the agent, not the player. We're giving him to them to get rid of his boutique agenting self. actually, if i was a player, i wouldn't mind having him as an agent at all.

Ok, really, David Lee the player is probably going to memphis, because the knicks don't want to spend that much on him. nate robinson? who knows. hanging onto a little hope there.

this probably means brandon bass to okc, but what do i know.

gortat might be a rocket fairly soon.

chris andersen is probably going back to denver

hedo is still going to portland, gordon and new house (that's is name, and it's what he's going to get with a new contract) are going to detroit, and LO and TA are probably going to stay lakers, unless mitch really lowballs them.

i have no idea what artest is going to do. and yes, if cost is equal, i would prefer him to TA, and I will no matter what crazy people say. Ron Ron isn't as crazy as people think, he's a tested veteran with few injury issues, and he can play. I would say the worst thing he does is shoot when his shot isn't going in, but A) TA does that too, and B) he'll get a lot of easier shots with kobe, pau and co.

just saying. and yes, I understand that I just lit a rather large incendiary device under this blog. no charge, K Bros, for the extra traffic.

oh, and I offer a belated props to the guy who came up with the rumor of sasha, jordan a luke going to indy. it's funny cause it's true. It's not stereotyping, it's mocking the sense that Larry Legend seems to have a blind spot. of course, it's also such a stupid trade for the lakers to make considering that tinsley has 2, count em 2 years left on his contract and hasn't played any competitive basketball in about three years, I wonder why anybody actually argued with it. It's a joke, people. At least, I hope it's a joke.

Why are people sour on TA?

He's home grown and works hard. His improvement = a Laker banner.

The question is if LO's improvement from the outside was a fluke or if he actually spent a lot of time working on it...

RON RON?

I was on the "Get Artest, trade Odom" bandwagon last Summer. I felt that LO was always going to be LO and Ron Ron would add toughness and a natural 3 to our mix. The thinking was, Gasol plays the 4, AB the 5, everyone is playing where they're supposed to be. Obviously, injuries can never be anticipated, but knowing the shaky status of AB, it was key to have LO for all the versatility he gives us. The ability to play multiple positions makes LO invaluable.

The only way we go after Ron Ron is if we somehow botch the Trevor signing. I don't see that happening, but if it does, Artest fits like a glove. Yes he's nuts, but he can be our nut job and with Kobe and Phil and LO (old buddy) Artest would be our Rodman. It's intriguing to think about that lineup, but hopefully it doesn't come to be. Trevor is who we want for the long run.

ok, back into the debate. I hope nobody is seriously suggesting ron ron for odom. if you need me to tell you what odom gives to this team, you're not going to read this post anyway. Also, odom is an 8-9 mil + sort of guy. no way artest is worth that.

but, artest for TA is a much more legit question. I don't know the money figures, but if the price tag is the same for both, get artest.

now the rub. If you are arguing that artest is crazy, please cite detailed sources of HIS CURRENT MENTAL STATE. not crap he did 5 years ago. I mean, you can throw that in, too. The argument can be had, but I will argue it, if you give me a reason to have to defend my assertion that artest is not too crazy to be on this team.

as for artest being a limelight hogging malcontent, here's the think. if he really does decide to go to LA, 1) he'll be coming to us, hat in hand and 2) he'll probably be taking a little bit of a pay cut. does that sound discontented?

of course, I will offer some disclaimers. no huge long term deal. get an early out clause. hell, see if he'll take one year deal for 8 or a two year deal at 16 with a team option. then he is expendable and a trade asset. if he doesn't want to do that, make him sign for MLE, and still offer TA the MLE. we can afford that. of course, all this goes out the window if we can sign TA CHEAP, and if we can stand any sort of chance at getting nate robinson.

so that's my stance. I'll defend it without and cheap shots or taking anything personally, and with much love, if I must.

It seems to me that if we lose Ariza or Odom and get Artest, he will bring a lot of the same capabilities they have. (Perhaps even more of the "toughness" on defense.)

There's no question that's he volatile and can be disruptive. However, as noted by others, he really respects Kobe. He would be kept in his place by the Mamba & Phil. Also, he seemed to be a great teammate in Houston last season and he's really hungry for that ring.

The financial downside is he's going to cost more than TA. (But perhaps not more than LO?)

Posted by: Chris | July 01, 2009 at 09:55 AM

=================
I would never want Artest in place of Ariza. He is over rated and a headcase. Respect Kobe, sure like he did in playoffs trying to get bogus fouls called on Kobe with his bs antics. What did he say? Something loke you can't elbow Ron Artest or something to that effect. Tells you what he thinks of himself over Kobe.

Now if we keep TA drop Luke and add Artest I would take him. If he acts up TA can come in and bench RA. Rest of team will keep him in line.

I love, love, love Trevor but I worry we will end up overpaying for him because of his "breakout year". The memories of Sacha's big, long contract and his zero for whatever showing in the Finals are still too fresh. But that's why Mitch gets the big money & ulcers.

Please say no to Artest. The dude's got skills but is WAY too mental.

Go World Champion Lakers!!!

Has anyone picked up Leon Powe?

I'm not a salary cap expert, but I'm pretty sure all the Lakers can offer Artest is the mid-level, around 5 million dollars. It's likely Artest would be cheaper than TA and a lot cheaper than LO.

I don't want him: crazy is as crazy does, and I'm unconvinced Artest has gotten his head together. But the idea he's more expensive than TA I think is incorrect.

one other thing, PJ is the perfect coach to handle Ron-Ron's antics, ala The Worm back in Chicago...

justa- yeah, but mostly by sasha.

i saw a guy who was not working in an offense, and got a little frustrated. I did not see a candidate for a rubber room who was chucking his own feces at the scorer's table, which is how you are making him sound.

dallas r's h- have you tried firefox? or just ditching vista and running linux? it sounds like your problems are more than the LA times.

If I were choosing sides for a pickup game in the park, I would pick Trevor or Lamar over Crazy Ron every time. Lamar has one thing Ron will never have,,,size. LO's size makes the Lakers a versatile, match up nightmare of a team. Trevor is every bit the player Ron is, but Ron is stronger than he is. That's Ron's only advantage.

Ron is a nut. Plain and simple. The Lakers need to concentrate on keeping their CHAMPIONSHIP team intact, improve from within, and maybe add a combo guard like Flip Murray into the mix for the mid-level exception. The Ron talk is madness, IMO.

I think Artest is a better player than either Odom or Ariza. However, he has a tendency to not stay within the system, and also to let frustration get the best of him (although he is better with that than he used to be.) Not worth taking a chance on.

BK,

I saw this thread and a whinced.

I know that Ron Ron d'Bill Artest has his abilities as a player, but the guy is a fricken lunatic. He does not have the presence of mind to win a Championship. The guy is coockoo for cocoapuffs.

Everytime I see people jump on the "Bill Artest Is The Answer!" Bandwagon, I just stare at the screen with wildeyed fear and amazement.

BK, you've thrown gasoline on the fire here, pal.

What do we play for? RINGS!!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!!

Joe Jackson not in the will? Why am I talking about joe jackson?

We may never know.

Go Lakers.

Wes

I'm disappointed in Trevor Ariza's agent. This whole "No home/Championship discount" nonsense is troubling.

EVERYONE (that includes YOU, Trevor) has to compromise for this to work out right. Everyone. If EVERYONE compromises, then everyone gets the most and has to give up the least.

Trevor could still be languishing on the bench in Orlando if it weren't for Mitch and the Lakers.

What do we play for? RINGS!!!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!