
Photo by Christopher Creamer
The newly crowned NBA champions made what amounts to a daring trade Thursday night, shaking up the league’s second day of free agency by essentially swapping out on-the-rise swingman Trevor Ariza for the versatile, physical and famously unpredictable Ron Artest.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Artest have struck an agreement in principal on a multiyear contract.
According to sources close to the process, the deal will total roughly $18.7 million over three years or $33.5 million over five years, depending on which contract structure Artest ultimately prefers.

