When the Lakers Mortgaged Some of the Future…

Before last season, the Lakers were coming off their first post-Shaq championship. They seemed close to unbeatable. Kobe was great. Pau was a fantastic second option. Andrew Bynum was dominant at times. Derek Fisher was a great leader. And the starting small forward, Trevor Ariza, was as good a fit as a role player around the rest of the starters as any Lakers fan could hope for.

Like Fisher, Ariza became a lock-down defender. At 6’8” tall, his gumby-arms allowed him to guard the player who was usually the other team’s best. Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest, and Manu Ginobili all had to work harder. Ariza could expend all his energy on the defensive end while filling the lane on fast breaks and spotting up for 3-pointers. Ariza was the only player on the Lakers who could match the athleticism of anyone the Lakers played against.

During the 2009 off-season, something happened between Ariza and the Lakers. To hear it told now, Ariza’s agent didn’t respond to an initial Lakers offer, so they went elsewhere. To most Lakers fans, Ron Artest’s talent and star power was an improvement over the mild-mannered role player that Ariza had become.

Everyone knows what happened next. Artest made a conscious effort to defer to his teammates during the 2009-10 season – almost to a fault. His ever-dynamic role on the Lakers culminated last year in a game-clinching 3-pointer and a second straight championship for Kobe and the Lakers.

When people are perplexed by how the Hornets can stay with the Lakers (series tied 2-2 as this article is being written), they need to know two things:

1) Chris Paul is as good or better than you think

2) The Hornets have put more good players who fit into roles around Paul than anyone realizes.

With Okafor and Landry playing amazing interior defense, Bellineli and Ariza knocking down shorts, and Ariza locking down Kobe in Battier-like fashion, the Hornets have made this first-round series more than interesting.

So back to my earlier question – Why was Ron Artest better for the Lakers than Ariza. As I sit writing this, Ariza is lighting the Lakers up. He is a solid contributor and while not a name like Paul, Bryant, Gasol, or even Artest, he remains as important a part of the outcome as any of those players. He has clearly, in less than one year, figured out his role on the Hornets better than Artest has figured out his role on the Lakers in two years.

Artest will be 32 years old this year. Ariza is 25. Artest is a stalky, strong, and at-times slow 6’7”. Ariza is a long, athletic 6’8”  Ariza is averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds vs. the Lakers going into Tuesday night’s game. Artest has had a good series too; averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds.

I hate to question moves that the Lakers make. They have made all the right moves over the past few years. A team who wins two championships shouldn’t be questioned too much. But I think it’s a fair question for Lakers fans to ask for the remainder of Artest’s contract and for the remainder of Ariza’s career. Did the Lakers make the right move? For now, you can’t argue with Larry O’Brien trophies, can you?

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The Lakers are winning and are looking like they’ll pull away but two thoughts about this game: 1) Chris Paul is AMAZING and 2) The Hornets aren’t getting any help from the refs tonight. The Lakers will definitely not get any in game 6.