Ron Artest Joins Kobe Bryant And Trevor Ariza Leaves

Sports Betting News - July 3, 2009 - Written by Steve

The people in Los Angeles have yet another reason to be happy that they are Lakers fans after ESPN reported that Ron Artest is going to be joining the Champion Lakers next season. Ron Artest announced that he will be joining the Lakers by sending a text message to ESPN.com on late Thursday night where he said that "I am happy to say I am goin' to L.A.". This means that Artest will have to build a relationship with the leagues best player after he got into it with Kobe a few times in the 2009 playoff series between the Lakers and the Rockets.

Ron Artest was paid $7.4 Million to play for the Houston Rockets last season and his deal with the Lakers reportedly pays him less money then that. The deal is said to be in the neighborhood of 3 years and $18 million dollars and agreed to verbally by Ron Artest and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ron Artest' agent told the Associated Press that "He wants to win a ring, he's a winner and a hard worker and he went looking for a team with whom he could find some justification for what he does. He plays his best when he's in that kind of an environment.". 

Ron Artest is not the only thing that is going on in LA. Trevor Ariza met with the Houston Rockets general manager to talk about a possible deal that would move him to Houston. The Lakers are not offering Ariza enough money to lock in a contract after he had made a big presence in the playoffs this year and that has caused him to agree to a deal with the Houston Rockets. Ariza agreed to a five-year deal that is said to be worth in the neighborhood of about $33 million, which is not the biggest contract that he was offered.

Kobe Bryant is the team leader on the Lakers and he is the main reason the Lakers have won all of their championship rings in the last decade. Kobe is going to need all the help he can get from Ron Artest if he wants to make it back to the NBA finals next season.