A look at the head scratching summer of the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers, winners of the NBA Championship, have been the center of the free agency buzz this summer and have made some decisions that have left arm chair sportswriters like myself, frankly, bewildered. Inspired by my confusion, I decided to put the champs through a round of What Were You Thinking?
Los Angeles Lakers: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING when you let Trevor Arizia go for Ron Artest?
Think about it, you let a 24 year old, VITAL piece of your championship run that has nothing but upside go for a 29 year old head case with diminishing skills and a desperate need for the spotlight. You do realize that Ron Ron envisions himself as an offensive monster, don’t you? You realize that he just lives for throwing up shots that would have even Michael Jordan scratching his head, right?
How long do you think this new found championship bond is gonna hold together when the antics of Artest (and there will be antics) start hitting the papers and that becomes the only headline in LA?
Los Angeles Lakers: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING when you pulled the offer off the table for Lamar Odom.
Did you guys drink a little too much Champaign after winning it all? Sure you’re trying to lure Odom back to the bargaining table now because you just realized that he’s very seriously considering jumping to Miami, but it never should have got this far.
You should have ponied up that extra year and half mil that would have landed him a month ago because now it’s a matter of ‘respect’ as well as cash and Odom looks to be one of those players that would walk away from a little green to a team he feels wants him.
Trevor Arizia: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING signing with the Houston Rockets?
You go from a championship team to a team that will be in the lottery next draft (and yes Houston will be a lottery team next season). No Yao, no Artest and who knows how effective T-Mac will be or even how many games you’ll see him in.
You’re young, you were coming off the high of a Championship run that saw you rise to notoriety and you trusted your agent, David Lee, when he said that the Lakers would pay out the nose to keep you.
I understand. Mistakes happen.
But why Houston? You could have signed onto another high powered elite team like the Cleveland Cavaliers for the same amount of cash. Sure, Cleveland isn’t L.A. or even Houston as far as location but I’m sure you would have cracked the starting line-up by midseason and would have built yourself up over a few seasons into a huge payday.
Now you’re stuck in Houston and your team is neck deep in the delusion that Ron Artest is an upgrade.
Time will be the deciding factors in all these decisions. LA can still sign Odom, Artest could hold it together long enough to help the champs repeat and Arizia could flourish in Houston, eventually being traded to a contender where his skills will shine for the world to see.
BUT, and it’s a big but as noted by the all caps, a person just has to wonder why a team that won it all feels the need to enact this level of change on its team?
