Should the Lakers trade Ron Artest?
The two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have had arguably their toughest season since winning the NBA title a couple of years ago. Even though the Lakers have been one of the best teams in the league over the last three seasons or so, it is becoming more and more apparent that a change might be needed if they want to pull off the three-peat in Phil Jackson's farewell season.
Obviously, after this season, the Lakers will be going through a drastic change with the departure of arguably the greatest NBA head coach of all-time, but this team and GM Mitch Kupchak are focused on winning right now. The one name that has been mentioned in Lakers trade rumors has been defensive specialist Ron Artest.
Other big-names have come up from time to time like Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, but with Ron Artest just having an awful season with his numbers down in almost every category, the Lakers are ready to send him elsewhere.
The one team that Artest has been linked to recently is the Charlotte Bobcats. Reportedly, the Lakers have offered Artest to the Bobcats in exchange for either Stephen Jackson or Gerald Wallace. The trade details aren't really clear on which player the Lakers would get in return, but my guess is it would be Jackson.
Even though Jackson is a solid player, especially on offense, I believe that Wallace would be a good fit in Los Angeles. Not only can Wallace do multiple things on the basketball floor at both ends, but he won't be a headache like Jackson who is known for not getting along with head coaches.
The Lakers obviously seem interested in making a trade before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 24, but who they will make a deal with and what players will be involved remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, the Lakers will make a deal.
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