Trevor Ariza Might Be Headed for Cleveland

After the Los Angeles Lakers won their 15th NBA title against the Orlando Magic there were a few players on the team that had to come back next season for the Lakers to remain the most dominant team in the West if not the entire NBA.

The most important player was Kobe Bryant of course, but there were two other free agents that were a MUST sign for the Lakers, at least in Kobe's opinion. The first is Lamar Odom who really stepped it up in the playoffs for the Lakers. Odom is really a freak of nature, he can play both the inside and outside game and has the ball handling skills to bring the ball up the floor. The other key free agent is Trevor Ariza who showed that he can be a major factor on any team in the league after the impressive performances all season long and most especially in the postseason.

Ariza's defense and new found confidence shooting from beyond the arch has made Trevor a key ingredient in the Lakers gameplan. Not only is he as athletic as they come, but he is only 24 and has a very bright future ahead of him.

Even though Ariza showed how valuable he can be to the Lakers, enough to where Kobe thinks it is extremely important they resign him, Mitch Kupchak and company have not offered Ariza anything more than the mid-level exception which is about $5.6 million a year.

As of right now, Ariza is not a happy with the way the Lakers are handling his situation and is actively fielding other offers from other teams.

Here are some of the other teams that have their eyes on Trevor Ariza:

Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and the Portland Trailblazers

The Cavs seem to be the most interested in Ariza, but I won't be surprised to see the Clippers or the Blazers pull the youngster away from the Lakers.

I hope the Lakers can find out a way to make Ariza a better offer because I believe losing him to contender could be devastating, but if they do lose him there is an outside chance the Lakers could go after Ron Artest who they wanted to deal for last season.