Artest To Lakers?!?

I know this is kinda old news too, lol
but how do you feel artest going to l.a??
& Ariza going to HOU??

On my view, I thought ariza was leaving was bad because i loved how he played
in l.a. especially during the playoffs;
I loved how he would always use his hustle in every game

but when artest signed a deal with the lakers, i kinda had doubts on him;
but later on i realized tht he's a better player than ariza.

I'm not really happy about Artest. He may be a good player, but he really strikes me as being an a*hole.

I hope we don't lose Lamar Odom, too. He's supposedly looking at deals that are considerably less than L.A. offered him before they withdrew them from the table.

Interesting piece in the L.A. Times today speculating that perhaps Kobe is the reason for Ariza and Odom leaving.

So why then? Could it be, and important to reiterate, no proof here, nothing to base this on, just asking: Could it be that these two low-key, soft-spoken forwards, neither of whom has that kill-or-be-killed mentality, no longer want (or in Trevor's case, wanted) the relentless pressure of playing with, and satisfying, Kobe Bryant?

Kobe does set the bar exceedingly high for all his teammates and even higher for himself. He does not abide mistakes, mental errors, lack of full effort or losses well at all. When you mess up, you'll hear it, loud and in both ears. And when nothing less than another championship is going to make anyone around here happy, it doesn't exactly allow for an easygoing workplace, an atmosphere of tranquility and relaxation, to which Odom and Ariza seem to be so well-suited.

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I think one of the Lakers' biggest mistakes was giving Andrew Bynum $53M. They had to have known that this was going to mess with their salary cap situation down the line. Frankly, I just don't think he's worth it. His performance this last season was mediocre and he spent way too much of his time on the injured list, and when he did play he was in constant foul trouble. It's like they wanted to "grow their own Shaq" but the plan just isn't working.

I wish Trevor and Lamar (if he does leave) all the best. They already have something many of the league's best players will never have... a championship ring.

Ariza averaged 9 points a game during the regular season. If it weren't for a couple of big shots in the playoffs, his going to Houston wouldn't be talked about nearly as much.

Don't get me wrong, he's very very solid. But he's no Artest (and this is coming from a Pistons fan).