If you were to glance at headlines yesterday, you might thing that the Los Angelos Lakers and the Houston Rockets made a trade. What is happening is that they are recruiting the other team's free agent. Ron Artest sent out a text saying he is happy to be a Laker. Meanwhile, Trevor Ariza is saying that he might be a Rocket. So, they are basically swapping small forwards. It is a good move for both teams. The Lakers want to win another championship and to do that, you have to mix things up a bit. Artest makes them better. He can score and defend. Ariza is still developing and getting better, Artest is already there.
I've created a formula that determines how many wins a player contributed statistically to his team. Last year, Artest earned 7 wins while Ariza earned 6. So, the Lakers get a win better, and the Rockets lose a win and a headache.
That's the down part for the Lakers. Will Artest be more of a distraction than he is worth? I don't think so. The Rockets lost Yao and McGrady during the season and still won a lot of games. For the Rockets this was a very smart move. Should Yao come back healthy, and McGrady does too, they got a piece that can help them win in the playoffs. If one or neither make it back, they got a player who is still getting better and can be a very good starter for years to come.
Good job on both accounts.
