The Lakers Are So Bad That They've Made Us Forget That Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) Is Still In The NBA

Watch the Warriors' bench. pic.twitter.com/Mad5WWOVWA

— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) January 6, 2016

And there you have it folks. Without question the most unforgivable thing the Los Angeles Lakers have done this year is render the viral appeal of Ron Artest completely obsolete. Sure, you could make the argument that ruining Kobe's swan song is pretty indefensible, but Kobe's done a pretty good job of that himself by shooting approximately 15% from three. Meanwhile, Ron Artest is just quietly playing 17 minutes a game, contributing a handful of points, and oh yeah, botching layups that your middle school basketball coach would make you run wind sprints for missing. Part of me thinks that even one of the most volatile personalities in NBA history realizes it's not even worth it to be himself because no one is watching. I've been on the internet all day today and it took a solid 24 hours for someone to bring to my attention a video of the entire Warriors bench blatantly laughing at the expense of Ron Artest. The Lakers are so bad that he could start 'Malice In The Palace, The Sequel' and it probably wouldn't even be front page news. In fact, knowing Los Angeles and their indifference towards anything that's not perfect, I bet they don't even consider the Lakers newsworthy anymore unless it's about Kobe's retirement. The Ron Artest I know and love would elbowed someone's teeth onto the concourse, not laughed with people that were laughing at him. The Lakers haven't just murdered their fan base's spirit (well, really they just made them change jerseys), they have murdered Ron Artest's inclination to entertain, and that's something I never knew possible. 

P.S. Metta World Peace will always be Ron Artest to me.