CBSsports.com reports Artest will sign w/Lakers

[Jack_Frost]

Worst news i read in a month

[johnnyrondo]

Let's say Dice goes to the Spurs, Artest to the Lakers, Shaq and Ariza to the Cavs, Odom to the Magic and Sheed to the Celtics.

That would be 5 super powers imo.

[Drucci]

Let's say Dice goes to the Spurs, Artest to the Lakers, Shaq and Ariza to the Cavs, Odom to the Magic and Sheed to the Celtics.

That would be 5 super powers imo.

The problem is that the West isn't enough competitive. The Lakers will have a cakewalk to the Finals since the Rockets won't be dangerous (no Yao, no Artest, maybe no McGrady). The Hornets and the Mavs don't have enough talent to stop the Lakers, and I don't think the Nuggets will stop them because they probably won't improve much this summer.

Only San Antonio could beat them if they add good backups to their bench this summer. And Portland is LA's dark horse, especially if they add Turkoglu but they are too young and don't have enough experience.

[dang] this is really a depressing news, once again L.A gets a steal and adds an excellent player in his prime for nothing. Disgusting.

[Prof. Clutch]

Well, this is officially the biggest news of the offseason, and I don't see any other free agent signing that will top it for the duration of it.  Unfortunately, this ended up happening to the lakers.

Seriously though, if money wasn't an issue and all it took was showing that he was wanted, why didn't KG, Ray, Pierce and company just highjack the plane and make one more stop on Artest's door.

****mit!

Why does anybody have to top the signing?

All we need to do is be better as a team, not have the most "splashy" signing.

Personally, I love it. This could be an epic NBA season if everybody stays healthy. All the top teams seem to be reloading for an all-out slugfest of a season.

I don't think anyone has to top that signing, especially not the C's.  I was just saying that I think that this will end up being the biggest free agent acquisition of the off-season.  That's all.  Artest...LA...Kobe, this will be the deal that most talked about and remembered about this offseason in my opinion.

[2short]

In a perfect (green) world he'll choke and beat down kobe.

[winsomme]

Let's say Dice goes to the Spurs, Artest to the Lakers, Shaq and Ariza to the Cavs, Odom to the Magic and Sheed to the Celtics.

That would be 5 super powers imo.

I'd add WASH, DEN and POR to that list. and think it could be an NBA season for the ages...

[johnnyrondo]

In a perfect (green) world he'll choke and beat down kobe.

Artest LOVES Kobe. You hear his quotes today? You see the video I posted?

More likely Kobe cheats on Vanessa with him and Kobe has to buy her another huge rock.

[screwedupmaniac]

yeah, i wonder if he'll actually respect kobe's arrogant ways of treating his teammates in the not-so-good times (walking away from bynum in disgust after he goes down with an MCL injury last year, constant screaming and angry facial expressions, etc.). he may just snap at him, especially if Phil Jackson doesn't come back next year. who's gonna harness all the egos?

i've never wanted something to implode so badly in my life. come on sheed, lets get this official and start piecing together the rest of our bench. BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

[winsomme]

Well, this is officially the biggest news of the offseason, and I don't see any other free agent signing that will top it for the duration of it.  Unfortunately, this ended up happening to the lakers.

Seriously though, if money wasn't an issue and all it took was showing that he was wanted, why didn't KG, Ray, Pierce and company just highjack the plane and make one more stop on Artest's door.

****mit!

Why does anybody have to top the signing?

All we need to do is be better as a team, not have the most "splashy" signing.

Personally, I love it. This could be an epic NBA season if everybody stays healthy. All the top teams seem to be reloading for an all-out slugfest of a season.

I don't think anyone has to top that signing, especially not the C's.  I was just saying that I think that this will end up being the biggest free agent acquisition of the off-season.  That's all.  Artest...LA...Kobe, this will be the deal that most talked about and remembered about this offseason in my opinion.

you're probably right that it will get the biggest headlines...also because LA just won the Title, but the biggest signing will end up being the one that works the best....

[2short]

In a perfect (green) world he'll choke and beat down kobe.

Artest LOVES Kobe. You hear his quotes today? You see the video I posted?

More likely Kobe cheats on Vanessa with him and Kobe has to buy her another huge rock.

Ron Artest might love kobe but when dark ron takes over   he'll eat kobe.  The guy's wiring is faulty.

[vitaminC]

In a perfect (green) world he'll choke and beat down kobe.

I'd love to see Kobe try and scream at artest for not doing something the way kobe likes. his teammates now take it, but i know artest wont.

hopefully they get into many locker room scuffles, causing physical/mental/egotistical wear and tear on kobe. Or even better, maybe artest will refuse to pass kobe the ball when it matters.

just hoping...

[tb727]

This is awful.

Can someone please clarify if the Lakers can still sign Odom and/or Ariza still? 

Because if they lost both of them and only gain Artest it's not nearly as bad as if they say, get Artest and to keep Odom...

[johnnyrondo]

This is awful.

Can someone please clarify if the Lakers can still sign Odom and/or Ariza still? 

Because if they lost both of them and only gain Artest it's not nearly as bad as if they say, get Artest and to keep Odom...

They could still sign both, but don't worry they won't. They don't want to be that over the luxury tax.

[JAM]

I think this hurts the Lakers a little bit (assuming that Odom stays).  Ariza is a better fit over Artest.  Artest is a terrible outside shooter, and won't spread the floor well.  Plus, he's a wild card.  Artest is a good player, but not an improvement over Ariza, who is only 23.

Should be a fun season.

[Prof. Clutch]

you're probably right that it will get the biggest headlines...also because LA just won the Title, but the biggest signing will end up being the one that works the best....

Agreed.  And I can't help but notices there is still one glaring difference and advantage with the C's and all these other teams that have made big moves.  Our starting 5 is completely the same as last year.  All of these other teams will have to take a period of time to accommodate and  integrate these new players into their system.  With some solid bench acquisitions for the C's I still see there core as being the most cohesive unit out there, as they've played together the longest and know what to expect from one another.  Orlando has to figure out its thing sans Turkoglu, Cleveland has to integrate Shaq and his big personality, and the Lakers the same with Artest.  San Antonio with Jefferson as well.

All we have to do is integrate a hopefully more talented bench to work around what we've already got.  The other teams might have to reinvent themselves a little bit.