Report: Artest joining Lakers

Basketball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Free agent forward Ron Artest is reportedly 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 told CBSsports.com via text message he was in Los Angeles to join the Lakers and didn't "care about the money" and that he would "play there for nothing."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers could finalize a deal with the 29-year-old that will pay him the full mid-level exception, possibly $32 million over five seasons. It would represent a pay cut after Artest made $7.4 million last season.

Even if the two sides were to reach an agreement soon, no deal could be officially announced until July 8, per league rules.

The Thursday news regarding Artest came on the same day another superstar had an introductory press conference. Ex-Laker Shaquille O'Neal met the media in Cleveland and said he wanted to "win a ring for The King" in reference to his new pairing with reigning MVP LeBron James.

Artest spent last season with the Rockets, helping Houston get to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1996-97. After spending three seasons in Sacramento, Artest averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 69 regular season contests with Houston.

For his career, spanning 12 seasons, Artest has game averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists with Chicago, Indiana, Sacramento and Houston. He has also established himself as one of the top-flight defenders in the league.

In another twist, the man Artest would replace in the lineup -- Trevor Ariza -- reportedly was offered a contract by the Rockets. The LA Times reported that Ariza, who was instrumental in the Lakers' playoff run to the title, was offered a contract near the value of the mid-level exception.

Ariza averaged 11.3 points per game in the postseason after posting 8.9 points per game in the regular season. His career scoring average is 6.9 points.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.