Although Artest is known for his defense, game seven allowed the forward to shine offensively, scoring 20 points while logging over 45 minutes. Despite Artest's long wish to win a championship, he raffled off his ring to raise money for mental health charities. The sign of maturity seemed like a long coming from the head case with a notorious past of getting into trouble.
Halfway into the season, it seems Artest is not as happy as he was last year. His intensity has decreased while his play seemed to decline this season. While Artest may just need inspiration to play better, he may not see much more time in a Lakers uniform. Sources close to Artest told ESPN.com that he wants to be traded.
The Lakers have recently made it known that they are willing to entertain trade offers and may need to make a transaction to make the team better. The team does not have many great trade pieces. The purple and gold seem to want to keep their core of Bryant, Bynum, Odom, Gasol and Fisher together and trading players like Shannon Brown, Steve Blake and the injured Matt Barnes could hurt the team's depth.
Artest, Luke Walton, Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff may be expendable but none of their contracts are great trade pieces.
Not many teams will be willing to take a chance on a problematic player like Ron Artest on the decline for the next four years or a player like Walton who is very overpaid as a role player that won't see much playing time. Smith and Ratliff don't provide much value to teams willing to deal and if teams were interested in acquiring them, their contracts ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
