Defining Truth In Purple And Gold

For nba fans in general and laker fans in particular the last few months have been quite a ride.  After LA's dominate showing in the finals we have seen other possible contenders scramble to shore up their rosters in hopes of keeping up with the Lakers. In Cleveland Lebron is pinning his hopes on a 37 year old Shaquille O'Neal, in Boston the Big 3 have become the plus one with Rasheed Wallace, and the Magic hope Vince Carter can return Orlando to the finals.

With all that going on it seems the Lakers found a way to get better in the offseason and still keep the primary focus on them. Consider: the Lakers basically swapped Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest. Anyone who says that this was a bad deal has been drinking the kool-aid. Consider the fact that LA was Ariza's 3rd team. How many people were singing his praises during stints in New York and Orlando? Hell he couldn't even make it off the bench in New York?

The thing you don't hear enough about is that just possibly, the system and playing with guys like Kobe and Pau may have benefited Mr. Ariza more than anyone lets on. During contract negotiations it was clear that Trevor had grossly inflated values of himself. Remind me, before this year what exactly had Ariza done to warrant a big payday from the Lakers? Even this year Ariza had decent numbers and some nice moments in the playoffs, but a star? Please.

The majority of Ariza's points and big plays came because of attention being payed to other Lakers offensively or defensively. Finally I question the smarts of Ariza. Home grown kid, upset at the fact that the team you just won a championship with won't over pay you signs with the Rockets? For the same money? Hope you like that Texas heat and all those contested shots you will get in Houston.

Artest for the money knew the truth. He wanted to win a ring. He has felt for several years that his best chance to do this would be with the Lakers. Seizing the opportunity he jumped at the chance to join Kobe in La-La land. Almost instantly the hating began. He's to volatile,he needs the ball to much, his defensive skills have diminished, he and kobe could never co-exist.

The list goes on, but once again the truth is hidden in these comments. Phil Jackson has dealt with more diverse and downright wacky personalities than any other coach in the league. He's dealt with superstars, wannabes, and Dennis Rodman. He can't deal with Ron Artest? Artest brings the defensive skills Ariza never had, the scoring potential Ariza will never realize, and the toughness that Ariza could never attain. To top all of this Lamar Odom held the hopes of a whole league at his fingertips. Will he or won't he? Suckers to the end.

All you heard about over the past few weeks was that if LA lost Odom their repeat hopes went with him. Really? Odom though a great talent is not winning championships for anyone. The Lakers would have been different but with Kobe,Artest, and Gasol they would have still been in the thick of the race. Odom in truth puts the Lakers over the top. He gives them a versatile player who can fill in at all 5 positions, and he represents another calming influence for Ron Artest.

So if the truth be told in purple and gold we are at the same place we were at the end of the season with one difference. A better Laker team is looking down at the rest of the NBA.