Will Ron Artest Replace Trevor Ariza in LA?

Trevor Ariza is not happy with what the Los Angeles Lakers are offering him, and some say that his short stay in LA is about to come to an end.

Some are even reporting that Ariza might take the MLE (mid-level exception, $5.6 million) from another team – say, Cleveland – just because he is upset with the offer the Lakers made to him.

In my opinion, if Ariza is going to command $8-10 million in this economy, he is expendable from the Lakers point of view. Sure Ariza can defend, but swingmen that shoot the ball well from deep are a dime a dozen, especially when they aren’t creating their own shots.

There is also a very strong possibility that Ariza’s play in the playoffs was a fluke, kicking in the Austin Croshere effect. Most Laker fans will always be enamored with Ariza because of the two steals he got against the Denver, but I think they need to realize that he is isn’t worth the money at this point.

So in this scenario, Ariza leaves, opening up the starting small forward spot for Luke Walton or another free agent. The Lakers may be asking themselves at this point, where can we find a shut down defender who can occasionally get hot from the arc and get to the basket?

Answer: Ron Artest.

It would be the perfect fit for the Lakers. Ron would get to come to Los Angeles, which would put him in the center of the music world (he is a musician for those that don’t know). Artest would also be reunited with childhood friend Lamar Odom and friend/rival Kobe Bryant. Can you imagine the team defense the Lakers would have with Ron and Kobe on the wings. Don’t get me wrong, Trevor Ariza is a great on ball defender, but he is nowhere near as strong as Artest. Ron brings the ability to guard bigger players, like Hedo Turkoglu, even when they try to post him up.

The best part about Artest? He will most likely take the mid-level exception to play in LA for those two reasons. Taking about $4 million less than what Ariza was asking for also gives the Lakers some flexibility to sign Lamar Odom, who is said to be looking for $10 million a year for four years.