Okay, this is my first time ever "publishing to" a group (Lakers Fans), we'll see how that works.

Also, it seems as if Foxsports has worked out my difficulties for me and that Tom7 will be my I.D. here.

Phil Jackson often uses the metaphor of a journey when he talks about winning a championship. Using his metaphor, the road back to an NBA Championship next season looks like it may be a bit harder than it was this last.

A few days ago I wrote a blog I called, "The Rich Get Richer." In it, I looked at this last season's title contenders and one by one talked about what they had done to get better (or worse) from where they were this last season. It contained draft information, trades, and people who, due to healing from injuries, would be more of a factor this coming season than they were

What does Phil Jackson think of the Ariza / Artest situation?

"I wasn't given the either or [the choice between Ariza and Artest]. I know Ron has been on our wish list for what, 3 years now? We needed a defender besides -- I mean somebody that was a lock down defender besides Kobe Bryant that could take on the chores, and, you know, Trevor turned out to be that guy this year.

"And so I was quite surprised, as was most of our fans I think, that, you know, negotiations did not go well with Trevor and his people. "

"And uh, you know, we think we have a player [in Ron Artest] that has probably a little more dimensions than Trevor, but still Trevor has that youth and that speed that we'll miss."

-- Phil Jackson to FSR's Myers and Hartman

Far more interesting, however...

Prior to the