Owner Real Deal Posted October 13, 2011 Owner Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Just how important was it that we brought in Ron Artest over Trevor Ariza? Facts are, Ariza's agent wasn't going to let him return to LA. Apparently, we didn't offer enough money at that time, and because of that, we decided to jump the gun and pick up Ron. Today, Ron is one of the worst offensive players on the team, and his defense is regressing a bit. Was it worth winning that 2010 championship, though? I'm not sure we actually beat Pierce and the Celtics with Ariza on board (and Artest elsewhere). Do we even beat the Thunder? Ron locked Durant down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Very important. I believe there was no way the Lakers win the 2010 title with out him. Yes he is regressing a bit but every player does and everyone was well aware of the the fact that he would. Also yes he does really suck on the offensive end but honestly with Bryant, Pau, Odom, and Bynum on the team he really should be asked to score more than 8 points a game lol them 4 should be able to score 80 points (if not more) per game alone. I think Ron has bulked up to the point where hes weight has begun to slow him down. If he can lose some of that mass a lean out a bit he can still be one of the best defensive players in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 13, 2011 Author Owner Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Very important. I believe there was no way the Lakers win the 2010 title with out him. Yes he is regressing a bit but every player does and everyone was well aware of the the fact that he would. Also yes he does really suck on the offensive end but honestly with Bryant, Pau, Odom, and Bynum on the team he really should be asked to score more than 8 points a game lol them 4 should be able to score 80 points (if not more) per game alone. I think Ron has bulked up to the point where hes weight has begun to slow him down. If he can lose some of that mass a lean out a bit he can still be one of the best defensive players in the league.Do you think the Lakers still lose to Dallas if they have Ariza covering the perimeter? Or, better yet, is this signing going to cost Kobe his sixth championship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Do you think the Lakers still lose to Dallas if they have Ariza covering the perimeter? Or, better yet, is this signing going to cost Kobe his sixth championship? Yes. Ariza would have made a difference but it would not have been significant enough to change the series entirely. LA lost due to many factors no just the fact that they couldn't cover the perimeter to save their life. Dallas was all around a much better team. No I dont think a signing that won you guys a ring can be at fault for not letting Kobe get his 6th. I think the game plan for LA has to change as Kobe isn't the same player anymore. I think the game should be played through Bynum and Pau (not in the playoffs lol). When you have 2 of the best bigs in the league on the same team it is hard for me to understand why the game is not played through them. Kobe should be the player the controls the flow of the game become a passer to say, not a player that necessarily has to come out a drop 25+ for them to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Indeed, the loss to Dallas this season was simply because the Lakers were outplayed, not just Ron. They need to change things to get back on the winning track again. In retrospect, the Artest signing was nice, and it brought them an extra Championship (they would have lost to the Celtics had Ariza been around instead as Artest is still a superior defender comparing to Ariza). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 14, 2011 Author Owner Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Yeah, I've said it over and over again...Pierce is more likely to go off in that series with Ariza on him. Same with Durant, honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenneral Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Anytime you win a championship, it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
?QuestionMark? Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Hell yeah it was worth it, especially to beat Boston. Part of the problem in the playoffs for Ron is that he really had no one to guard. When they signed him the tought was maybe LA had to go through Melo, Roy, Durant, and Ginobili to get to the Finals and then face either Pierce or LeBron. Last year we had ron guarding Belinelli and Marion. So Artest's strength was really fully utilized. I don't think LA beats Boston with Ariza instead of Ron. Hell, Ron set the tone within the first minute with his takedown of Pierce. I don't recall Pierce really killing LA except for a stretch is game 4 or 5. Other than that he was quiet, at least compared to when Vlad and Luke was defending him in 08. I don't know that Ariza would have made much of a difference this year either. Would have helped, no doubt, but I don't think they would have gotten past Dallas anyway. LA as a whole just looked slower and I'm not sure if Ariza alone would have fixed it. LA needs to make a lot of changes to get quicker on the perimeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Artesticle Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 yeah it was worth it. we don't beat boston without ron, plain and simple. i loved the signing when it was first announced but my problem with it has always been the number of years. 5 years is a lot to commit, but since he was so important in helping us repeat it was definitely worth it. like choseone said, ron has bulked up to the point where it's severely hindering his game. if he takes the time to lose some weight i definitely think he'll be much more mobile and improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) Well considering that I was willing to resign Ron to a $30 million 3 year deal and you guys got him for the MLE and then won a championship, yeah it was definitely worth it. Edited October 15, 2011 by Dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sħãlïq™ Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 It was worth it. Ron was more productive overall, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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