The Lakers lost Trevor Ariza, their starting small forward during this past championship season, yet they arguably got better, signing former All-Star Ron Artest in his place. I'm not sold on Artest -- he's a talent for sure, but also a head case. We'll leave that story for another day. My biggest beef is with Ariza. Laker fans are outraged, stating the ball club was too cheap to shell out and keep Ariza around. To these fans I say, check your facts.
Look, I was a big fan of Ariza, given his L.A. roots and UCLA background, but the kid completely misplayed his cards. He was at best the 5th or 6th best player on the Lakers, but for some reason thought he was entitled to a big payday... in the worst recession in the past 50 years... with the salary cap decreasing for the 2009-2010 season.
When the Lakers offered Ariza the full mid-level exception of $5.6 million a year for 5 years, Ariza reacted as if they gave him Lyme disease. His agent thought the offer was a slap in the face and vowed to shop Ariza around the league to get him the payday he deserved. Turns out no one else was willing to pay the kid anything more than the original Lakers offer. And fewer still were willing to give him the 5 years the Lakers offered, an offer that came with the benefits of playing for a team that should be championship caliber throughout the bulk of it.
The ultimate trump card? The Lakers knew Ron Artest wanted to play with Kobe Bryant. Badly. Sure, they felt a kinship to a kid they helped to shape into a valuable NBA contributor, but when Ariza and his agent started making noise about what inconsiderate villains the Lakers were, well, kinship only goes so far. So General Manager Mitch Kupchack picked up his phone and gave Artest a buzz. And not surprisingly, Artest -- a man who needs a championship to validate his star-crossed career -- jumped at the chance to win a ring with the Lakers. In comes Artest. Out goes Ariza.
In the most interesting twist of fate, Ariza ends up signing with the Houston Rockets, the former team of Artest, swapping spots with the man he'll replace. The only problem with this swap is that Ariza will be making the exact same money but playing for a team that is going nowhere. So instead of holding a handful of championship rings, the move will likely lead to Ariza being exposed as an overpaid, offensively limited player. Not the ending I think he had in mind for himself when he started playing hardball.
Here's to you Trevor Ariza. Thanks for helping us win the NBA championship. I wish you luck with your Rockets career, but I can't help but think you'll live to regret this when you separate emotion from fact. And that agent of yours that helped you into this mess? He'll be fine. He gets his share of your contract, no matter how happy you are with the end result. At least someone's a winner in all this.
