The Los Angeles Lakers let go of their key to an NBA Championship, in Trevor Ariza.
But the Lakers filled the hole at small forward when they signed Houston Rockets power forward Ron Artest.
Artest was good enough to be their SF and they were also lucky enough to keep Lamar Odom, as well. Ariza then joined Artest's previous team, the Houston Rockets.
Houston's 2009-10 season later turned into a disappointment.
Yao Ming was the big key, as he was out for the whole year.
Then, Tracy McGrady was traded, but the Rockets got Sacramento Kings' Kevin Martin out of it.
However, it wasn't enough and Houston would later turn into a team that is now looking forward to an offseason and the NBA Draft late in June.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers finished as the best team in the Western Conference and are now looking at revenge against the Boston Celtics, in a re-match from the 2008 NBA Finals.
Many expected, before the season, that Trevor Ariza would have the better end of the deal with a five-year contract. Along with that, Ariza was in his prime, at 29 years of age, and was coming off an amazing performance in the 2009 NBA Playoffs.
Artest would seem like "that guy," even though he had a five-year deal as well. The thing was, Artest looked like he was past his prime, as he would probably play as a role player, as his age was 34.
The Lakers looked like they had a bad deal coming for them.
They never built their roster when they were aging in the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant era. Now, the Lakers are a new team now that Kobe Bryant is acting nothing like the "past his prime" player that people label him as.
Pau Gasol is in his prime and is just doing an amazing job right now.
The Lakers pulled the trigger on the AK-47, taking ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
