Ariza relishes big role in Houston

Cart path, seventh hole, Woodcreek Golf Club, Roseville, Calif., the Matt BarnesBobby Jackson charity tournament last month.

"Trevor, you're up."

Trevor Ariza, a defending NBA champion as a Laker, a major free-agent signee as a Rocket, uncoiled from the cart and went to the back for the bag that had been supplied.

"Which one am I supposed to use?" he asked someone in the foursome.

"Sand wedge," came the answer. "The one with an S."

Ariza, holding up a club: "Is this an S or a 5?"

It was an S, it was his first time golfing, and it was that kind of summer. Ariza, expanding his horizons. New sport in the name of charity, new contract, new business address. New moment.

The Lakers left Ariza rather than the other way around, choosing to add free agent Ron Artest instead of re-signing Ariza, a high-risk move of altering a proven championship lineup. The job as starting small forward having been handed to Artest, Ariza then took a five-year deal from the Rockets, essentially replacing Artest.

Strange but true. Ariza went to high school in Los Angeles, went to college in Los Angeles, won an NBA title in Los Angeles, but when it finally came time for his big payday, he had to leave Los Angeles to get it.

It's mostly coincidence that he swapped cities with Artest, even if the outcome will forever be compared as a direct Lakers-Rockets trade of defensive-minded small forwards. There is an appeal to proving L.A. made a mistake by changing up a known winner, Ariza said -- "You can't worry about stuff like that. I try not to worry about that. But we're all human, so. ..." That's not why he signed with Houston, though.