Won't EVER get tired of this!!
And I find an email from Yahoo this morning...the Championship gear is on the way!!
Of course Kobe ain't going - and quite frankly.. It'd be SHIITE to see him in another team, he's a Laker for life!
Artest: “i just signed my deal†– Artest a Laker? Check out the tweetin’ madness!
Published by Chris Manning on July 1, 2009 in 2009 Off-Season. 18 Comments
UPDATE: It looks like Ron has signed a deal. Check out his latest tweet from moments ago:
•i just signed my deal. we ballin tonight. champagne on me (via twitter)
It looks like Ron posted his farewell “tweet†to the city of Houston:
•THANKS ALOT HOUSTON.I HAD ALOT OF FUN (via twitter)
Some interesting tweets from Ron’s brother. And with Ariza possibly leaving, Ron Artest would be more than welcome by us here at The Lakers Nation…
•LA is in the lead for Ron. (via twitter)
•Selling Ron to Cle is tough. Lol. LA bright lights. Arrgh. But understandable. (via twitter)
•I want Ron to sign with Cleveland but Lebron unloyalty to his city is probably the reason y he won’t. But lebron needs to stop bull****tn. (via twitter)
Also, sources say Ron is unlikely to return to Houston:
RealGM: “NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports Wednesday it is unlikely free agent forward Ron Artest will return to the Houston Rockets. League sources told FOX 26 the Rockets would be willing to offer Artest a one-year contract at best. The sources said because of that the chances of Artest resigning with Houston are remote.â€
Ariza takes step back while Artest Jumps Forward
By Gary
After one of the most dramatic Free Agency signings, non-signings in recent Los Angeles Lakers History, we all realize one very important thing happened last night -
Trevor Ariza and his Agent, David Lee, got screwed.
Let's just recap the timeline of this 2 Day negotiations.
June 30, 2009 - David Lee leaks out to his "sources" that his client, Trevor Ariza, is looking to sign for a contract worth $8-9M a year. Not an outrageous request, since Trevor was a huge part of the Lakers title run with his key steals and 3 points shooting.
July 1, 2009 - Lakers respond to Lee's contract demands and "sources" say that we refuse to go anything above the Mid-Level Exception for Trevor's services. Considering Ariza'srelatively short time of actual productive minutes since his trade from Orlando, this wasn't an outrageous request either.
It was a contract year and Trevor took full advantage of it except he did the smart thing and saved the best for last, raising his regular season 3pt average from 31.9% to a playoff career high of 39.9%. With that being said, the Lakers have recent experience of a player stepping it up in the playoffs, signing a big contract and then suddenly turned from "The Machine" to "The Don't shoot the damn ball ever again!," so you can understand if the Lakers are a little gun-shy in these economic times.
So, this is where we're at and to be honest, I thought we were going to sign Trevor somewhere at $7M a year so that both parties get what they want. Trevor gets the security of a long term contract and is rewarded for his hard work and dedication to the team. The Lakers get a young, athletic swingman that can knock down 3pt shots and play great defense.
David Lee knows how important Trevor is to the team. The thinking is "there's no way the Lakers let go of a KEY player from a championship winning team!" Well, it's good that this super-agent thought this way for his client. To build him up and make him feel like the most important thing since sliced bread.
In actuality, the Lakers weren't thinking this at all. “If they couldn’t get Trevor [Ariza] cheap,†said a source with knowledge of the Lakers’ free-agent plans, “they had Ron in their back pocket.†(via Yahoo Sports)
The Lakers watched as a motivated Lebron James finally got his Shaquille O'Neal date (after dates with Penny, Kobe, Wade & Amare), Dwight got Vinsanity, the Spurs picking up Richard Jefferson for free (similar to the Lakers theft of Pau) & the Celtics were going after Rashee Wallace. The Lakers had to do something to improve this team and if it took sacrificing the future for the present to re-establish them as the overwhelming favorites next year, then so be it!
July 2, 2009 - A couple of very important things happen on this day
•The LATimes.com reports that Trevor and his agent are in Las Vegas meeting with the owner and general manager of the Houston Rockets. A team full of forwards, but that's about it since news came in the week before that Yao Ming could possibly be out for next season and/or the rest of his career.
Obviously, David Lee is scheduling these meetings and leaking stories to different sources to give off the impression that there is an increasing demand for Trevor's services throughout the league. Build up the demand and drive up the salary.
So guess what happens next.
•CBSSports.com reports that Ron Artest has verbally agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for the Mid-Level Exception of $5.6M a year.
David Lee's Brain Bubble - "#$(*&#$@(&$#*$&#(!!!!!"
Artest just set the market price for a player with his skill and size.
Houston says "hey, we're not going to overpay for Trevor if the Lakers can get Ron for that cheap!"
Trevor verbally "OKs" a deal for $5.8 Million a year with Houston hours after Ron makes his announcement.
So basically, Ariza moves on to a rebuilding situation from a championship contending team for only $200,000 a year.
The reaction from the thousands of dedication fans on Lakers Nation through our Facebook and Twitter are overwhelming. There is a mixture of shock that Trevor is gone. Much like the shock that one feels after realizing the end of a relationship has come so suddenly. There was amazement that we got a play of Ron Artest's caliber for such a cheap price. There's hesitation in not knowing if Ron Ron is going to play nice with Kobe and/or how far up the stands he's going to go if someone says the wrong thing.
Looks like we've locked down Shannon Brown for 2 seasons. Good news, good depth.
Ron Artest Press Conference Kicking off in 20 minutes. Even if you can't stand the organisation, tune in, should be 'entertaining'.
LAKERS: The Los Angeles Lakers Sign Ron Artest
Thanks for that just watched the interview/press release....Was good to hear from the man himself on what he hopes to acheive whilst in LA...If he stays true to his word we will be a hard team to beat again....
Also is there any word on the re-signing of Lamar???By the sounds of that interview he will be signing.....
Ron Artest, who wore No. 96 with the Houston Rockets last season, will wear No. 37 with the Lakers in honor of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album, which topped the national sales chart for 37 weeks after its 1982 release. . . .
Artest also has worn Nos. 15, 93, 23 and 91 in the NBA, the latter two to honor Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman. . . .
Still too early to call, but I think we may have pulled a sign and trade; LO for Beasley. Not sure what to think just yet, I'll put it this way, I'd rather keep LO if they can sign him and if he will sign.
We had about a week to enjoy this Championship, then all the drama with Ariza, we got Ron, that was a plus and now we seriously could be losing LO...
Damn.
---------- Post added at 12:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------
I should add there's also rumors Lamar has in fact accepted a 4 year contract with us, who knows what going on? It still could swing the other way.
Man im praying that this doesnt happen for you. Beasley YUCK YUCK . at least you'll have someone that takes more shots then Kobe
Beasely hasn't impressed me at all, but he's still got a lot of upside. LO is playing great basketball when he can be arsed. Why fix something that isn't broken? This is a terrible move by the Lakers IMO.
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