What a wild and wacky world we live in. According to numerous reports, Ron Artest(notes) will be a member of the Lakers come October, while Trevor Ariza(notes) is headed to Houston. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about the free-agent switcheroo ...

Sam Amico, PBN: "How well will Ron Artest fit in with the Los Angeles Lakers? 'Perfect,' former NBA coach and PBN contributor Eric Musselman told me. 'It's a perfect fit both for the player and the organization.' Musselman coached Artest for one season in Sacramento (2006-07), and has attended Lakers training camp as an invited observer. So he knows both player and organization well. '(Lakers coach) Phil Jackson loves guys who play multiple positions, and Artest is that kind of guy,' Musselman said. 'He can defend the other team's shooting guard, small forward or power forward. Offensively, Jackson loves multi-dimensional guys who can pass, shoot and dribble and do all three well.'"

Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle: "Trevor Ariza makes the Rockets younger, faster and better. He fits with the way Rick Adelman wants to play. Sometime next season, we're going to see Tracy McGrady(notes), Carl Landry(notes), Aaron Brooks(notes) and Ariza leading a fast break that will take your breath away. Finally, we're going to have an Adelman team that plays like an Adelman team. I'm so giddy about Ariza that I'm willing to forgive and forget with T-Mac. OK, so we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's take a deep breath and go one step at a time. Ariza is a first-rate defensive player, threw in almost 50 percent of his 3-pointers in the playoffs, and is still only 24. Yes, there's still that hole at center. Give Daryl Morey a couple more days to take care of that issue."

NBA FanHouse: "... Pau Gasol(notes) might be the most endangered Laker in all of this. Kobe ain't giving up shots to Ron-Ron ... but someone will have to, unless you think Artest — who has in the past placed himself in the same league as Kobe and LeBron James(notes) — will shave half his offense to become Trevor Ariza II. I sincerely doubt our protagonist will be so generous. So the Laker attacker who requires the ball to be fed — Pau — figures to suffer. Even this past postseason, when the Lakers looked so dominant (save a tough series against Artest's Rockets), the chorus called for more Pau touches. It's the coda of the big man, the call for the ball, especially for a forward as selfless as Gasol. But teams get only so many possessions, and every touch for Pau this year (more or less) meant one less touch for Kobe, the reigning MVP. I would imagine most Lakers fans wished at some point last season Pau would get the ball more frequently, even if in the end the arrangement worked out famously."

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles 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?"

Silver Screen and Roll: "You know the old saying, right? The one that goes 'If it ain’t broke, don’t trade for a guy who got suspended for a year because he attacked a fan in the stands.' The Lakers just did exactly the opposite. Considering Ariza just signed a contract for a similar amount of money, couldn’t the Lakers have just re-signed Ariza and had the same team that just won a championship? A team should be allowed to defend its championship, Ariza played an important role on that team, and he was a chemistry guy. Artest is a ball hog who ruins offenses, gets lots of technicals, and is on a shorter leash with the refs than Rasheed Wallace(notes)."

Empty The Bench: "If you’re Ariza, you feel disrespected. It’s hard not to take this personally when you just played a critical role in helping anybody win a NBA championship for anybody, let alone a storied franchise like the Lakers. This is the team synonymous with your city, the place where you grew up, where you played college ball. This is the team you dreamed of playing for as a pro ... and the team that, in the end, declined offering you the security of the long-term contract that you’ve damned well earned. Any other competitive team would be thrilled to have you, and you’d likely be the crucial missing piece for any one of them. You are that good. (Maybe.) And when you win that second ring with somebody else, you’ll be in store for an even bigger payday than this one. And then the Lakers will be sorry ..."

Dan Shanoff: "Is Ron-Ron a fit in the Triangle offense? Who cares? Will he freak out in the glare of L.A.? All the better! Artest is the best kind of acquisition: Talented AND interesting. Jordan kept Rodman in check and the '96 Bulls were one of the best teams ever. It is not an inappropriate analogue to think the same thing about Kobe and Ron-Ron, who are friends. Imagine that: Artest with a ring — and the last laugh."

The Baseline: "Shall we hand the Lakers the trophy now? OK, it is premature. The issue of Lamar Odom(notes) still needs to be addressed, and that could be a lengthy process. But, in signing Artest, the Lakers have responded strongly to new acquisitions made by the likes of San Antonio (Richard Jefferson(notes)), Cleveland (Shaquille O’Neal(notes)) and Orlando (Vince Carter(notes)), and have girded themselves against anything that teams like Denver, Boston, Portland or Detroit might do. The signing of Artest means that the Lakers have reasserted themselves as championship favorites. The 2009 championship trophy probably put an end to all those questions the Lakers had to answer about toughness over the course of last year’s season and playoffs. With Artest in the fold, we can (hopefully) give those questions a final and hearty farewell. Artest gives the Lakers the kind of unquestioned bruiser they’ve lacked in the post-Shaq era. He is a dogged defender, and though a loose cannon, he is the kind of player who intimidates opponents even before a game begins. It’s been a while since the Lakers had a presence like that who wasn’t named Kobe."

Barkley's Mouth: "For all the craziness and unpredictability that Artest’s reputation holds, you can’t deny him this — he wants to win. Artest quickly came to an agreement with the Lakers, not even considering the promise of other offers shelling out more money and, don’t get it twisted, those more lucrative offers were going to be there. Artest is a bulldog on defense and a legit threat on offense. Any team would want that on their team, but Artest didn’t want to be on any team. Artest wanted a team that could win a title now and because of that, he’s a winner despite making less money than Ariza who has to be considered the loser here ..."

The Dream Shake: "... I'm not so sure that letting Artest go was a bad thing. If Yao Ming(notes) were to miss much of next season (which is a distinct possibility), it would be the Ron-Ron Show, starring Ball-Hoginess, Bad Shot Selection, and Angry Postgame Tweets. I wouldn't be a fan. Why put up with Artest for another year when the chances of winning a championship would be slim to none? Why pay him when we can save the money for later? That's how devastating Yao's injury is. It not only cost us our best remaining wing player; it made the loss of Ron Artest somewhat necessary."

OhMeOhMy, Jello'sJigglin': "In regards to Trevor Ariza, Laker fans can only lament his sad fate and thank him for his hustle, hard work, and overall admirable services in helping the team gets it 15th Championship. However, as is so often the case in these sort of dealings, the business side of things had to come in and ruin the fun. Enter Agent David Lee(notes), who after hard-balling Buss and Kupchak for the past 24 hours and attempting to squeeze as much payday from them as he could, now finds himself having to tell his client (who grew up in LA, loves LA, and supposedly 'bleeds purple and gold') that he will have to settle for the midlevel offer and continue playing with a Chinese teammate ... except this new offer was not from the Lakers, and not with the Rising Sun Yue(notes), but from the Houston Rockets and the Fallen Tower Yao Ming."

Kevin Pelton, Unfiltered: "Last year, Ariza used 16.7 percent of the Lakers’ possessions while on the floor. Artest used 24.7 percent of Houston’s possessions, and has been over 23 percent every year since 2002-03. If Artest plays to his tendencies, it’s hard to see where those possessions would come from, especially when he is on the floor alongside the high-possession Bryant. I’m of the belief that possession usage is in many ways as much a skill as anything else, not something that can be largely dictated by coaches. Using a ton of possessions is in Artest’s DNA just as much as physical defense or crazy quotes."

Forum Blue & Gold: "Does anyone else have the feeling part of the Lakers looking at Artest was not wanting to deal with the public negotiations of Ariza agent David Lee? They put up with him in the Bynum case because there were no other options — young guys with Bynum’s potential are rare. But quality swingmen who want to be on a contender are more common. Lee tried to get the most for his client, but he negotiates in a very public way and the Lakers are a very private team (in terms of front office dealings)."

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