Ron Artest averaged 17.1 points in 69 regular season games last season with Houston.
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) -
Free agent forward Ron Artest is leaving the Houston Rockets to join the Los Angeles Lakers and will provide the team with more offensive firepower next season, as he'll join Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol on the defending NBA champions.
Artest announced on ESPN's SportsCenter in Los Angeles that he has reached a verbal agreement with the Lakers and will play for the mid-level exception. He cited the fact that Houston offered him only a one-year contract, while the Lakers jumped at the chance to give him a multi-year deal.
The Los Angeles Times has reported the pact is for three years at close to $18 million. That represents a pay cut after Artest made $7.4 million last season.
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Motor City Blues
By John McMullen, NBA Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
I've always thought of sports as the ultimate form of escapist entertainment.
And a whole lot of people need to "escape" right about now.
It was announced Thursday that the nation's employers cut a larger-than- expected 467,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate climbed to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent. All told, 14.7 million Americans were unemployed in June.
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