It's amazing the firestorm of reaction the Lakers signing of Ron Artest has created. Sports writers in LA are already talking about Artest being a chemistry killer and the supposed friction that exist between him and Kobe (which could be further from the truth, considering they are both good friends). The Houston Rockets have gone crazy and overpaid for Trevor Ariza whom they believe is a younger, although lesser skilled version (and I'm being kind here) of Ron Artest. And most assuredly, the Blazers and or Raptors will likely step up and overpay for the highly skilled, yet vastly inconsistent services of Hedo Turkoglu. But there's another reaction that many haven't considered. And that's what affect Ron Artest's signing will have on Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
You see for elite athletes, especially in the NBA, things come down to a respect issue. I know, that's hard to understand with athletes making the kind of money that they make, not to mention the fame and prestige that comes with being 2 of the top 5 NBA talents that play in the league. But think back to the situation with Kobe 5 years ago. He had signed his contract with the Lakers, making him the highest paid player. He was obviously the best player in the league (from a talent standpoint). And yet Kobe didn't feel like he was getting the respect that he deserved...and rightfully so having to depend on Lamar Odom as your number 2 scoring threat. So now consider the situations with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. Sure Lebron has a nice team and Shaquille O'Neal is a huge upgrade over Ben Wallace. But is that enough of a move to overtake a Boston team that will be healthy next year and potentially have Rasheed Wallace added to their frontcourt? Will they have enough firepower to contend with a Magic team that not only will have their second best player in Jameer Nelson healthy, but also the dynamic playmaking skills of Vince Carter? That seems unlikely. And it seems even more improbable that Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley will be enough for the Heat to compete in the East as well.
But even if Lebron or Dwyane somehow make it out of the East into the finals, are they really going to be able to compete against Kobe and the Lakers now? I hardly doubt it. No one is that great individually. Maybe the only way left now to get that respect is to possibly join teams next year. Guess we will have to wait and see.