Orange County Register

Here’s the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” segment in its entirety from Monday night with Ron Artest largely unclad but wearing a big smile …

Sitting here working on my Shannon Brown column and just finished watching Ron Artest’s spot on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Just gets more and more interesting to have Artest in our lives. It’s great, isn’t it?

Yes, he was on there without a shirt on the whole time and wearing just shorts that looked like boxers but he said weren’t. Yes, he had “Jimmy Kimmel Live” cut into the back of his hair, although he said he’d rid himself of it before facing the Knicks for fear of David Stern’s wrath. Yes, he actually said he hoped Kimmel didn’t think he was “weird.”

Artest disputed the story that he ran out of the team hotel in his underwear to catch the team bus to Staples Center last spring for a Rockets-Lakers playoff, explaining that the shorts looked like boxers but were just shorts with underwear underneath: “I wasn’t out there freeballin’,” he said.

That’s why he wore what he wore for his appearance on the show — to explain it all very visually.

Artest was his usual lively, unique self and obviously happy to be there. Kimmel said eventually: “Will you come back, like every week?”

And because Artest knew he’d successfully been his usual lively, unique self throughout the segment, he said about showing up for work in front of Phil Jackson the next morning: “He might be giving me a book tomorrow.”

(The YouTube video is the second part of Artest’s appearance. It’s the funnier half.) — JC

LOS ANGELES — We shall see just how good Jim Buss is at what Jerry Buss has proved great at — owning the Lakers — as time goes by. But there is no question about Jim’s increasing voice in the Lakers’ decisions.

And as Jim said Sunday night, one of those was the choice not to keep pursuing Trevor Ariza — instead turning to get Ron Artest.

Jim Buss called Artest “a bargain” for the Lakers at the mid-level exception, which is pretty much accurate. Here’s how Jim Buss detailed the free-agent saga with Ariza and Artest: “When Ariza kind of balked at our offer, that really kind of set the wheels in motion for Artest.”

Buss added: “You want to keep the team intact is your first feeling.” But then he called Artest a “perfect fit for this team. I think we improved.”

Indeed, after the Lakers’ victory over Oklahoma City on Sunday night, Phil Jackson raved again about the way Artest plays defense. Kevin Durant shook off Artest frequently early in the previous meeting between the teams — Artest said he had forgotten how to defend Durant after not facing him for a long time — but Artest rallied later in that overtime victory and then did a really good job on Durant on Sunday night.

Artest also contributed to an overall great defensive outing by the Lakers, who forced 19 turnovers. Kobe Bryant said it was a carryover from the great, intense defensive practice the Lakers had Saturday.