When I logged-in to my twitter account today, I noticed that the hottest trending topics are for the keywords “Ron Artest” and “Lakers”. My suspicion was immediately confirmed when I found that Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest was sent to the newly-crowned NBA champion LA Lakers. As free-agents can not sign until July 9, Artest and the Lakers have come to a verbal agreement to the tune of a three-year, $18 million deal.

Do I smell a repeat?

The Lakers might have virtually given up Trevor Ariza (who has agreed to play for Houston Rockets BTW) for Ron Artest but in Artest, they are definitely getting an upgrade. Here’s why I think so.

1. Artest is a better defender – Ariza might be known for his defensive skills but he has not yet made any NBA All-Defensive Team in his career. Artest on the other hand was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2003-04, runner-up to Detroit’s Ben Wallace in 2002-03, earned All-Defensive 1st Team in 2005-06 and 2nd Team last season.

2. Artest is a better scorer – Ariza has career scoring average of 6.9 ppg while Artest 16.1. Although it can be argued that Ariza plays fewer minutes, it just goes to show that teams want Artest to play more as he is a better scoring option than Ariza is. While Artest is not a good shooter and is streaky, the same thing can be said for Ariza.

3. Artest is more experienced – he has been into the league for 12 years now playing 604 games after having been selected as the 16th pick overall in the 1999 NBA Draft. While still young at 29, he has already seen his share of ups and downs that will come in handy for the Lakers.

Some would say that Ron Artest is too volatile. He was after all a major part of the most infamous brawl in professional basketball history, the Pacers-Pistons brawl in November 19, 2004. He has also been suspended several times for flagrant fouls. He has some legal troubles as well. He’s just a risky acquisition for the Lakers as his presence might disrupt team chemistry.

Well, the Zen Master will work on that. Remember Dennis Rodman?

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UPDATE October 28, 2009: Will Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers repeat as champions with the addition of the volatile Artest?

Follow the Lakers and watch their live streaming games for the duration of the  2009-010 NBA season.

UPDATE June 18, 2010: Ron Artest finally got his first championship ring by helping the LA Lakers win the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics in a grueling seven-game series.

Seems like bringing him in LA was no mistake at all.

Please read my related posts:

1. Ron Artest Files Petition to Change Name to Metta World Peace Eccentric LA Lakers forward Ron Artest had filed a petition in L.A. County Superior Court yesterday to change his name to “Metta World Peace”. The 31-year-old NBA star was born Ronald William Artest Jr. In the court documents, Artest cites...
2. 2010 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals Round | Ron Artest Hits Buzzer Beater With the score tied at 101, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant had  the chance to give his team the win just like he has been doing all season long. With the ball in his hands and 3.5 seconds remaining in the...
3. NBA Free-Agent Signings | Hedo Turkoglu to Raptors When forward Jermaine O’Neal was brought to the Toronto Raptors before the start of the 2008-09 season, many thought that his rebounding and defense will immediately provide support to the team’s front court of Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh. For...
4. NBA Free-Agent Signings | Ben Gordon to Pistons Free agent guard Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls has reportedly agreed to play for the Detroit Pistons starting this coming NBA season for a five-year, $55 million deal. He has been offered $50 million by his old team but...
5. NBA Free-Agent Signings | Rasheed Wallace to Celtics Forward Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons has finally committed to play for the Boston Celtics next season agreeing on a two-year deal that  starts at the mid-level exception (expected to be about $5.6 million to $5.8 million). In Wallace,...
6. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | Amare Stoudemire to New York Knicks Amar’e Stoudemire had agreed to play for the New York Knicks starting next season, thereby becoming the first high-profile free agent from the class of 2010 to switch teams. The Phoenix Suns drafted him 9th overall in the 2002 NBA...
7. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | Shaquille O’Neal to Boston Celtics! The rumor that Shaq is going to Boston is true after all. Shaquille O’Neal has agreed today to play for the Boston Celtics for two years for the veteran minimum of $2.8 million. With Shaq’s addition, the team now has...
8. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | Jermaine O’Neal to Boston Celtics A big man leaves while another enters. Such is the case for the Miami Heat. After Chris Bosh announced his desire to join the returning Dwyane Wade with the team for next season, center Jermaine O’Neal signed with the Boston...
9. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | “Z” Joins Former Cavs Teammate Lebron in Miami Seems like “Z” wants a championship ring so bad too. Less than a week after Lebron James announced his decision to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play for the Miami Heat starting this season, Lebron’s former Cavaliers teammate...
10. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | Carlos Boozer to Chicago Bulls After news of Dwyane Wade resigning with the Miami Heat and Chris Bosh joining him starting next season, the Chicago Bulls immediately secured the services of the next best power forward available from the 2010 free agent pool, Carlos Boozer....

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Tags: free-agents, la lakers, NBA, ron artest, twitter