Los Angeles Lakers Trade Rumors: Is It Time To Finally Cut Ties With Ron Artest?

With the NBA trade deadline fast approaching and the Lakers still struggling to find any kind of rhythm, the rumor mill is suddenly beginning to heat up in Los Angeles.  

Adding fuel to the fire are some recent public statements made by GM Mitch Kupchak that he may have to consider a trade as a result of potential complacency amongst the players.

Naturally, when discussing potential trade options, the first name to come up was Ron Artest as a result of his season long struggles.  

Artest is averaging career lows in points (8.1), rebounds (3.0), assists (1.9), steals (1.4) and most importantly minutes (28:11).  He's playing five less minutes per game compared to last year while shooting just 40.6% from the field.  

Artest maintains he is still every bit as good on the defensive side of the ball, but he was recently exposed in front of a national television audience by Paul Pierce, who torched Artest and the Lakers for 32 points in a dominating 109-96 win at the Staples Center.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Artest has insisted that he does not want to be traded.  He even shook hands with Lakers owner Jerry Buss a few hours before their game against the Spurs last Thursday.  

"We always chill. Nothing special," Artest said, adding as an afterthought, "We've had lunch before."

This brings us to the question, is it time to finally cut ties with Ron Artest?  

I think the answer is simple...absolutely not.  

If there is on thing I've learned in my 24 years as a Lakers fan, it's to not waste any time or energy panicking.  If you don't panic when you are down three games to two versus the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, you certainly don't panic in February over a few close losses.

Not only did Ron Artest help this team win their second straight NBA Championship last year, he scored 20 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 steals while playing a team high 46 minutes in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year.  

Defensively, he frustrated Paul Pierce into a 5 for 15 shooting night and oh yeah, he hit the biggest shot of the season, a three pointer with one minute to play, to help seal the victory.

Amazing how short our memories are as Lakers fans isn't it?  That's because as a Lakers fan, the last title isn't good enough, it's all about the NEXT title.  Our favorite question to ask is when can we win another one?

Especially this season when we are talking about sending Phil Jackson out on his fourth Three-Peat and 12th title overall, Kobe's Sixth Ring, and most importantly tying the Boston Celtics by hanging a 17th banner from the rafters.

Trust me when I say this team will need Ron Artest come playoff time.  They will need him to help fluster the other team's best player (see Kevin Durant last year in Round 1) and they will need him to hit a clutch three pointer at some point during their run to 16 wins.  

I should note, Artest is hitting 36.5% of his threes this year, up one percent from last year and up two percent from his career average.

So, no, it's not time to trade Ron Artest.  What it is time to do, is be patient and not panic.  The NBA Playoffs are over two months away and the goal is to be peaking and playing your best basketball when the playoffs start.  

It is exactly what happened last year, and there is no reason to think that it won't happen again this year.  Andrew Bynum is still rounding into shape and Matt Barnes will be back after the All Star Break.  Do I need to play my this is a marathon not a sprint card now?  Please don't make me...