Hate to see Ariza go. Loved the heart and athleticism he brought to the Lakers. However, I believe he gained as much from the Lakers as he contributed on the floor. When you look at players trying to fullfill their potential, it's always good when a young player comes into a stable situation. It's not a coindence that Ariza saw his value in the NBA raise from a nobody-10th-man on the bench to becoming a important piece to a championship team in 2 seasons. Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and the whole Laker coaching staff should get a lot of the credit for helping this young man mature into a pro. Obviously everyone in the NBA has talent. What separates the successful players from the unsucessful ones is coaching, right situation, and right system for the most part.

With that said, I believe Ariza is a great guy and a hard worker. He will continue to improve. I don't think he will be a disappointment in Houston but I also don't see him being an All Star anytime in his career.

During the playoff run Ariza's on ball defense against big small fowards had me concerned. It was obvious during some stretches that he's underweight for the position. Especially when he was guarding players like Melo and Artest. They would just eat him alive in the post and offensive glass. Ariza weights 210 pounds compared to Melo at 230 pounds and Artest listed at 260 pounds on NBA.com  

Artest will be a better fit on the defensive end because he can guard the bigger SFs that Kobe's too light to guard. And Kobe can guard the quicker players that Artest is too slow to guard. Sometimes Artest has trouble with quicker players like Roy and Kobe.  Basically last year Kobe and Ariza were interchangable on defense. Ariza didn't do any better on SFs compared to Kobe.

Another important aspect is 3-point shooting. Especially if Artest is going to be on the floor with Gasol/Bynum or Gasol/Odom. Artest shot 40% from 3s last year compared to Ariza's 32% from 3s. This is even more suprising considering most of Ariza's attempts are when there's not a defender within 10 feet of him and Artest obviously gains more attention when he has the ball since he was the 1/2 option on the team. Look for the type looks to be interchanged this upcoming year. Artest should have wide open looks and he's a pretty good shooter.

Another benefit of Artest is that he's a player who can create his own shot. With the signing of Artest, I can see Kobe's minutes dropping to 35 per game during the regular season. The Lakers lacked another wing player who can create their own shot. Obviously Gasol is great in the post but every team needs atleast 2 players on the wings who can break their man off the dribble. The only time Ariza would score is if he's set up perfectly by a outlet pass from Kobe or from the post. His offensive game is improving but it's still very limited.

I'm not worried about Artest's attitude or him causing trouble in LA. We see this all the time: a player with a bad rep coming into a good situation and staying out of trouble. Randy Moss to NE, Rodman to Bulls, etc.

My only concern is Artest's history of getting injured. In his 10 year career, he has'nt had one season where he played over 76 games. He had 3 seasons where he played under 30 games.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the signing and it's a gain for the lakers.