Artest or Ariza: Who Got the Better Deal?

On Wednesday night, The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets played each other for the first time this season in Houston with the Lakers squeaking by with a 103-102 overtime victory. This early season matchup brought more interest than usual because of some offseason swapping of players including Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza. Ariza would lead the Rockets in shot attempts taking 21 in the game but he connected on just five and totaled 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. Artest has not had to be the number one scoring option anymore but still matched Ariza with 15 points and also had six rebounds and made three 3-pointers. The Lakers won the NBA title last season with Ariza playing a large role on the team. He was a starter, very good defender, reliable three point shooter, and just an all-around glue guy—something that championship teams tend to have a lot of. The Lakers made the tough decision to let the young, up-and-coming star part ways and then they went in what ... (link)