With Artest on board, Lakers in search of repeat

The most daring NBA title defense in years, maybe decades, began July 8 as Ron Artest signed a free-agent deal and the new list of threats grew to 29 teams against the Lakers plus the Lakers against the Lakers, because normalcy is for other people.

In that moment, the reigning champions committed to taking on the field and themselves. Artest was in at small forward, Trevor Ariza was out, and the debate was on: Did the Lakers improve by choosing the better player, the counter to the aggressive summers by challengers Orlando, San Antonio, Boston and Cleveland, or did they create greater vulnerability by inviting in the notorious instability?

At the very least, the Lakers walked away from a roster that was proven parade worthy by signing Artest and allowing Ariza to leave as a free agent, and that's risk enough. But they embark on the new season at risk times 10 because Ariza is dependability and compatibility and Ron-Ron is, well, not. That's a large part of the gamble, the chemistry issue.

The lure is understandable. Ariza is a good defender, Artest is better. Ariza's shooting was an important factor in helping L.A. through its schizophrenic Playoffs, but Artest is a greater and more-versatile offensive threat and concern for opponents, not the low priority Ariza was by comparison.

Among the many positives the Lakers are counting on is the presence of Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and coach Phil Jackson. If (when) Artest goes off the reservation, very strong personalities will be in place to get him to re-focus in a way the nice-guy locker rooms of his last two stops, Houston and Sacramento, did not.

"I think it cuts both ways in some respects," Fisher said. "There is some danger, like you said, from a comfort and a chemistry standpoint when you make changes at key positions or with certain players. I think that depends on who comes in or takes that player's place, in terms of their abilities and how they fit in with the team. But I think the other side of that coin, which even I have to realize pretty quickly, is that there's also a good place for change, in terms of a new hunger and enthusiasm and passion for winning that maybe sometimes after guys have won it becomes more difficult to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

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"I think that's where Ron is going to be the biggest asset for us -- I don't think there'll be a day this season where he allows other people to take a day off because they've already won a championship before. That's why he's here. At the end of the day, even if not at the beginning, that's going to be the biggest plus for us and I think one of the biggest reasons why we have a good chance of repeating."

Artest, putting it more succinctly, or more worldly: "I think there's a risk making a commitment to anybody. You can ask everybody that got married and got divorced."

Sure, if you want to bring logic into it.

No defending champion has invited this level of second guessing in years. The Pistons traded Corliss Williamson in the summer of 2004, but he was a reserve. The Spurs brought Hedo Turkoglu on board about a month after the 2003 title, but it only cost them seldom-used Danny Ferry in the three-team deal. There was a major subtraction that same offseason, but it was David Robinson retiring in a pre-determined move, not San Antonio deciding to let go of a key part of the success, the way the Lakers did in preferring Artest over Ariza at small forward.

The closest in magnitude in recent years is L.A. trading Glen Rice to New York for a package that included Horace Grant, three months after Rice started for the 2000 champions and was third on the team in scoring. Vindication came when the Lakers won another title, the middle year of the three-peat, with an important contribution from Grant.

That one was the risk of any transaction, though. This move -- it wasn't a trade but seemed like it once Ariza signed in Houston to replace Artest -- transcends most roster decisions because there are serious considerations beyond what Ron-Ron does on the court. It's off the court where things can get tangled for him.

The Lakers don't want the complications, even if they have shown the touch to handle them. But that's their new life of dealing with all the opponents and with themselves, and not necessarily in that order.

1. FOCUS IS THE DIFFERENCE If the Lakers couldn't play with the proper intensity for stretches of the Playoffs last season, without a championship, will they laser in for the 2009-10 postseason or have a title hangover? 2. POINT GUARDS UNDER SCRUTINY The Lakers defense will want to do a better job against after the backcourt speed of opponents did damage last season. 3. ARTEST ON BOARDS For all the attention that goes to other areas, the newcomer can make an important contribution for a team that finished 18th in defensive rebounding. -- Scott Howard-Cooper