According to multiple sources, Ron Artest is headed to Los Angeles to sign with the defending champion Lakers. Artest, whose Houston Rockets took the Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, will reportedly sign an offer using the mid-level exception.
The Lakers needed to look for a new small forward after Trevor Ariza decided to ask for more money than Los Angeles wanted to pay. Although Ariza played great in the NBA playoffs, the Lakers obviously think he is expendable. Enter Ron Artest.
Last season with the Rockets, Artest averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He …read more

 Who will guard Kobe?
Rookie Courtney Lee will likely get his shot at the Black Mamba in the beginning, provided Lee is in the starting lineup. Otherwise, when Mickael Pietrus is in the game, he will no doubt be regarded as the ‘Kobe Stopper’. How well he can stop Kobe is debatable, but my guess is Pietrus will do a better job than Ruben Patterson ever did.
Wouldn’t surprise me to see Hedo Turkoglu or J.J. Redick get some cracks at Kobe here and there, but it probably won’t end well for them.
Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Superman?
If Bynum …read more

All the talk about how the Denver Nuggets could have been up 2-0 heading into Game 3 is now quiet. On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers reclaimed their spot in the driver’s seat by going into Denver and coming out with a 103-97 victory.
Down by eight points entering the fourth quarter, the Lakers played championship level basketball down the stretch to get the win. Kobe Bryant hit a number of big shots, Pau Gasol was a beat on the low block and Trevor Ariza got another late game steal. For the Nuggets, they limped to the finish line — …read more

The art of the chest bump is truly an American thing. Growing up, we chest bump all the time. Score a good grade on that math test? Chest bump. Ace your driving test? Chest bump. Get a raise at work? Chest bump.
Apparently, the art of the chest bump hasn’t crossed the pond just yet. In the video below, you can see Sasha Vujacic attempting to chest bump his fellow Los Angeles Lakers teammate Trevor Ariza. The result is something that Sasha probably wishes wasn’t caught on tape. If you don’t catch the hilarity the first time, don’t worry because the …read more

Andrew Bynum, who was really supposed to be back playing by now, is just starting to run on a treadmill. This treadmill workout marks his most strenuous physical activity yet. It also marks the first I’ve heard of a $75,000 treadmill.
The Lakers’ athletic training staff leased the $75,000 treadmill in order to help speed the recoveries of Bynum, Trevor Ariza (broken foot) and Chris Mihm (heel).
Bynum, Mihm and assistant coach Brian Shaw used the treadmill Tuesday.
They ran without the pounding they would normally experience on a regular treadmill or on the court, which gives their legs a break.

Now, how this …read more