IndyStar: Add guards Luther Head (Miami) and Shannon Brown (Lakers) to the list of players the Pacers have contacted.

Lakers.com: After receiving results of medical tests, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has announced he will return to coach the team for the 2009-10 season.

“After consulting with Lakers team internist Dr. John Moe, I feel confident that I can gainfully pursue an NBA season with another long playoff postseason. All things point to go!,” said Jackson.

Jackson, who just completed his 9th season as head coach of the Lakers and 18th overall as an NBA head coach, concluded the 2008-09 season by leading the Lakers to the NBA championship. With his most recent title, Jackson won his 10th NBA championship, surpassing the late Red Auerbach for most in NBA history. In addition to his most recent title, Jackson won three consecutive championships in his first three seasons (2000-02) as head coach with the Lakers. The fastest coach to reach 1,000 career victories, Jackson’s total of 1,041 wins ranks 6th all-time. His .705 winning percentage ranks 1st in league history.

A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Jackson served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls for nine seasons prior to joining the Lakers, leading the Bulls to championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

All of Phil’s medical tests came back he’s healthy & will be back coaching Lakers & going for XI championship. Can’t wait for ring night (via Twitter).

The ability to keep Dennis Rodman plugged in with the Chicago Bulls, something only Jackson and Michael Jordan managed after Rodman’s early days with the Detroit Pistons, helped him win two of those rings.

Asked during a SportsCenter appearance Thursday if he believes he’ll be playing for Jackson when he reports to Lakers training camp in October, Artest said flatly, “He’s my coach.”

Artest also told the Los Angeles Times: “I had a great talk [Thursday] with Phil. I’m a huge fan of his and I can’t wait to show him what I can do.”

Continue reading ‘Source: Jackson intent on return’

L.A. Times: Less than three weeks after the parade, the NBA champion Lakers have already met the biggest threat to their throne.

Themselves.

What are they thinking? What are they doing?

They just won a title that would not have been possible without the strong defense and stunning shooting of a 24-year-old kid with a limitless ceiling.

Yet they send the kid packing for an aging nut whose greatest hits have occurred on the heads of fans.

They just won a title with a locker room bathed in the soothing light of unselfishness, teamwork and a quiet temerity.

Yet they cut the power and added the darkest of moods, a guy who has made a career out of hoarding the ball, the attention, and the anger.

Tell me again, why did they get rid of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest?

Explain to me, please, why they wouldn’t even negotiate further with Trevor Ariza before quickly agreeing to sign Ron Artest?

Continue reading ‘Plaschke: Lakers make the wrong move going with Ron Artest’

“We have entered into discussions with Ron Artest and it is our intention to sign him to a contract at the conclusion of the moratorium period.”

The free agency moratorium period started on July 1, when free agents were allowed to begin speaking with NBA teams.

The period concludes on July 7, which sets July 8 as the date for the potential and official agreement between the Lakers and Artest.

CBS: Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the ‘08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 points, he was alone in the shower, just fuming. He heard somebody walk in and assumed it was one of his teammates, or maybe a staff member. Instead, he looked up, and it was Ron Artest (to this day, Kobe has no idea how Artest got into the locker room).

“I want to come help you,” Artest said. “If I can, I’m going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need to win a title.”

L.A. Times: Ariza agreed to a five-year deal with the Rockets for about $33 million, roughly the same that the Lakers had offered in their effort to retain him.

“I had to do what was best for me and family,” Ariza said. “I am happy with my decision. I’m glad this all worked out. The Rockets are going to give me a chance to improve my game and that’s all you can ask for.”

Ariza’s agent, David Lee, said the 24-year-old forward passed up a more lucrative contract offer from another team with salary-cap space. “We decided to go with Houston anyway,” Lee said. “It was never about the money. It was about going someplace where you felt appreciated.”

Here’s more on the situation…

My Fox Houston: I can tell you definitively Trevor had an offer that was nine million more than what the Rockets offered and he decided to go with Houston,” said David Lee, Ariza’s agent, in an interview Thursday with FOX 26 Sports.

“It’s like I told (Lakers General Manager) Mitch Kupchak. It was never about the money. It was about being at a place where he felt wanted and appreciated.”

Laker Nation, join us in welcoming your newest Los Angeles Laker… the True Warrior: Ron Artest.

That’s right Ron-Ron will be in the Purple and Gold come next season, so D-Bricks and G-Small had to give you exclusive analysis of this huge deal.

They talk with Senior writer, Eric Pincus, who goes in-depth on the newest member of your Los Angeles Lakers!

Come on in, and lets talk about the big trade!

Music -
Notorious BIG – Going Back To Cali.
Keri Hilson ft. Kayne West and Neyo – Knock You Down

Other Audio -
Ron Artest Highlight

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Download Link: Voice of the Nation – Episode #59
Backup Download: RapidShare

ESPN: The Houston Rockets have answered the defection of Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers by quickly reaching an agreement to sign Trevor Ariza away from L.A.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that Ariza made a verbal commitment Tuesday night to sign a five-year deal with the Rockets on Wednesday — the first day free agents are permitted to sign new contracts — not long after the Lakers and Artest reached terms on a three-year deal worth an estimated $18 million.

ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan reports that Ariza, according to sources, will receive the Rockets’ full mid-level exception, which is being projected to come in at $5.8 million for next season. If the exception for the 2009-10 season is indeed set at $5.8 million Wednesday when the league announces next season’s salary cap and luxury tax, Ariza’s deal would be worth $33.5 million.

The Rockets shifted their focus away from Orlando Magic restricted free agent Marcin Gortat on Thursday when it became clear that Gortat was on the verge of reaching terms with the Dallas Mavericks and when it became known leaguewide that Ariza was determined to leave his hometown Lakers — in spite of his vital contributions to L.A.’s championship run — because they were unwilling to start his new contract higher than the mid-level exception.

Continue reading ‘Ariza verbally commits to Houston’