"Ron Artest, the mercurial forward who has bounced from Chicago to Indiana to Sacramento to Houston, has landed in Los Angeles, and Trevor Ariza is on his way to the Rockets. Artest, 29, said Thursday he has agreed to a contract that will make him a Laker next season. The Lakers cannot comment on pending deals - contracts cannot be signed until Wednesday - but Artest's agent, David Bauman, said the deal was for five years and between $34 million and $35 million. "I don't care about the money," said Artest, who played for the Rockets this past season. "I'll play there for nothing. L.A. was very interested in me, and they got me." Artest's presence meant the Lakers probably would have had to choose between Ariza and Lamar Odom - both unrestricted free agents - as to which member of their NBA championship team they would try to re-sign. However, Ariza met with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and coach Rick Adelman in Las Vegas on Thursday and reportedly agreed to sign a contract with the Rockets next week - essentially making it an Artest-for-Ariza swap."