Lakers Hire Chuck Person To Help With Artest

The Lakers have hired Chuck Person as a special assistant.

Person, a former Pacers executive, spent time with forward Ron Artest during his tenure in Indiana.

Artest nearly blew up against the Rockets last week. He came close to getting into an altercation with Trevor Ariza.

"I wanted to grab his throat because he hit me with an elbow, but I didn't," Artest told the New York Daily News. "It was a thought, you know, but then I thought about David Stern, and said 'OK, I'm not going to do this.' "