Chisolm: Ariza Made Huge Mistake

[admiralsnackbar]

This article reeks of fanboy passive aggression. Ariza deserves to get paid. And thinking RonRon is going to do for LA what Ariza did is definitely opening up the possibility for crow sandwich.

[old timer]

Ariza strikes me as a better fit for his new team and city than Arteste for his. As for who is ahead of whom, I go with the alphabetical order, a-r-i comes before a-r-t, if for no other reason.

[Dr. Real]

I don't know what the big deal is. The Lakers will miss Ariza also. It was a good relationship. He played his role better than just about anyone not named Kobe or Pau. He also knew his place int he offense and was deadly when it counted. Ask Orlando.

I don't think Artest will be able to duplicate that as he notoriously shoots too much and is the master of inopportune bonehead plays. I like that he improved his attitude but it's obvious the move to L.A. was all about him.

[Freakout]

If Ariza doesn't have a player option after his 3rd year then he just screwed himself.

[maldoror]

Originally Posted by admiralsnackbar

This article reeks of fanboy passive aggression. Ariza deserves to get paid. And thinking RonRon is going to do for LA what Ariza did is definitely opening up the possibility for crow sandwich.

Not really. It's more like reality. Here's another article, this one by Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports, expressing the same sentiments.

Lakers look to Artest to fill dramatic role - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

"No, this wasn’t about the money, nor his client’s needs. This was a failed power play, an embarrassment of the highest order. Looking back, Ariza will rue the day. He’s a good player, but he’ll never be a star elsewhere. He’ll just be another player on another team."

“He (Ariza's agent) was way too emotional about this,” said a league executive who had talked to Lee in recent days.

Ariza was an L.A. kid living a dream, 24 years old, a gifted, young talent on the defending champion, and his agent’s bluff backfired.

Now, Artest trades places with Ariza, and the Lakers get a dimension they haven’t had in a long, long time.

Perhaps three or four years ago, Artest couldn’t have handled living and playing in L.A. He gives the Lakers sheer nastiness, and as an executive with one of his past teams said Thursday night, “Ronnie will show everyone that he can win. I think he’s matured, and overall, he’ll be on his best behavior. Phil [Jackson] has been through this before with Rodman. He’ll handle this.”

[BackHome]

Haha..Artest is a head case and after watching him jack up stupid threes against the Flakers only confirms this. The thing about Houston is that they have a tough team minded approach and kept him in line for most of the season.

The Flakers only have Kobe and he is a little punk so who is going to stand up to Artest when he goes off...Gasol?.....

[JWest]

I think Artest is a gamble and risk the Lakers could have avoided though Ariza's agent bears the brunt of the criticism. Reminds me of Stephen Jackson's miscues. The Chris Paul's and the Tony Parker's of the NBA are still going to blow past him because Ron Ron has lost a step whereas Ariza was effective against speedy PG's. Still could pay off or it's more ego-drama in LA. We shall find out soon enough. No smooth sailing for Phil this season.

[pessimist]

I think Ariza played over his head all season -- mainly because no team in the NBA EVER "game planned" for Trevor Ariza. He was able to go out and pretty much do whatever he wanted because Kobe was on the floor.

I don't think the Lakers are losing anything -- because Kobe is such a great player -- they can plug a similar person in his spot . . and he also will have his level of play raised.

Maybe I'm wrong -- but I think Ariza is just an average player -- who happened to be playing with the best player in the world.

[old timer]

We shall see, but I, myself, think the Lakers will ltimately be the bigger loser here and by a wide margin.

[Fiallo1984]

Originally Posted by maldoror

Not really. It's more like reality. Here's another article, this one by Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports, expressing the same sentiments.

Lakers look to Artest to fill dramatic role - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

"No, this wasn’t about the money, nor his client’s needs. This was a failed power play, an embarrassment of the highest order. Looking back, Ariza will rue the day. He’s a good player, but he’ll never be a star elsewhere. He’ll just be another player on another team."

“He (Ariza's agent) was way too emotional about this,” said a league executive who had talked to Lee in recent days.

Ariza was an L.A. kid living a dream, 24 years old, a gifted, young talent on the defending champion, and his agent’s bluff backfired.

Now, Artest trades places with Ariza, and the Lakers get a dimension they haven’t had in a long, long time.

Perhaps three or four years ago, Artest couldn’t have handled living and playing in L.A. He gives the Lakers sheer nastiness, and as an executive with one of his past teams said Thursday night, “Ronnie will show everyone that he can win. I think he’s matured, and overall, he’ll be on his best behavior. Phil [Jackson] has been through this before with Rodman. He’ll handle this.”

The counter to that is that Adrian Wojnarowski also published the misinformation that Bowen was at odds with Pop, and would never return to the Spurs if the opportunity arose. Wojnarowski goes with a lot of things that give his articles pop without necessarily being true. Secondly, the Sports Network of Canada is not exactly the most connected news outlet for the NBA, so take any article they post with a grain of salt.

Yes, there was an attempt by Ariza's agent to leverage Ariza's best season into the biggest contract he could get. It's a business and the richest businessmen try to make the most money they can in a given situation. Players are only free agents so many times so if you're smart you try to get the best deal you can when you can. Ariza was disappointed that he didn't do enough to earn himself something above the mid-level in the eyes of the Lakers which he thought he had earned. Additionally, no one knew that the going rate on Artest would be so low. Articles like these two make mountains out of mole hills.

[maldoror]

Originally Posted by Fiallo1984

Yes, there was an attempt by Ariza's agent to leverage Ariza's best season into the biggest contract he could get. It's a business and the richest businessmen try to make the most money they can in a given situation. Players are only free agents so many times so if you're smart you try to get the best deal you can when you can. Ariza was disappointed that he didn't do enough to earn himself something above the mid-level in the eyes of the Lakers which he thought he had earned. Additionally, no one knew that the going rate on Artest would be so low. Articles like these two make mountains out of mole hills.

I thought both articles were spot on. I was thinking exactly what those articles said before they were written. Ariza's agent blew it. Ariza wanted back in LA and the Lakers wanted him back. He could have been back at the same price he got in Houston. His agent was arrogant, over-valued Ariza's worth, and thought the Lakers would pay above market value because they won a championship. Huge miscalculation there. You don't pay extra in a bad economy. This was on of the most botched free agent negotiations I can ever remember.