A few hours ago the NBA announced the schedule for some "key games." The reigning NBA champions - the Los Angeles Lakers - will receive their their championship rings when they play the Houston Rockets. That's hilarious.
For those who don't get the joke: after last seasons when the Lakers also won the championship, the Lakers made only one significant roster move. Trevor Ariza, a promising young player who played a key role in the championship run, decided to play hardball with Laker management during his contract negotiations (at least his agent did). The Lakers instantly signed Ron Artest (who played for Houston) to take his place and rescinded their contract offer to Ariza. Ariza then signed with the Rockets for the same amount of money that the Lakers offered him. So, this fall Ariza will get to watch Artest receive the championship ring that likely would have been his if he handled his contract negotiations differently. Artest gets a ring while Ariza gets to be a mediocre player on a bad team.
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