I'm exuberant over this signing. I have loved Artest as a player ever since he entered the league. His defense > Ariza's defense.
I love Ariza and what he has done for us, but LA wasn't willing to pay him more than what they thought he was worth ($5.5mil),
and I'm with them on that. No way is he worth $9mil a year. LA received the former DPOY and All-Team Defense selections for the MLE.
Mitch Kupchack comes though again.
Besides, Artest is very good friends with Kobe and Lamar. I'm sure they'll have a blast playing together.
Quote:
Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the '08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 points, he was alone in the shower, just fuming. He heard somebody walk in and assumed it was one of his teammates, or maybe a staff member. Instead, he looked up, and it was Ron Artest (to this day, Kobe has no idea how Artest got into the locker room).
"I want to come help you," Artest said. "If I can, I'm going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need to win a title."
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Ariza has agreed to sign with the Houston Rockets. Peace out Trevor!