Dude, if it was just one or two incidents then fine, no biggie but look at the guys rap sheet, which I posted in the previous page of this tread. He causes trouble on a consistent basis, it's been true for most of his career
I'll start it if the Maloofs turn it down: "Artest trade NOT NOT dead" This deal is getting to be as bipolar as Ron himself!
I would love to have his basketball skills and size on our team. But man, the rest of the baggage is a no go.
Key phrase...in this case. See this post: If it was anyone else I doubt you'd be saying this. Because of Artest's 'reputation' you're judging him unfairly. Yeah he messed up in the past and even he would admit that, but he did nothing wrong in this particular situation. Its like if he insisted on going only to L.A. even though Pacers are having doubts about Maggette's health. Everybody has their own interests, Pacers having the legal powers, while Artest has leverage with his words. The best thing is when all parties are truely content. They gotta come up with a compromise. It'd be better for Artest and his future team ANYWAY.
and it is back: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304942 Artest saying that he never said he didnt want to go to Sac Town.. O the Randomness
who cares what he said, he has no "no trade clause" in his contract he turned his back on the team that stood by him all last year he is the nba version of T.O. he hasnt played yet for sacto and has already ruined that team. he just ruined any shot he has at gettin a max contract anywhere down the line
jim gray's reporting on sportscenter the trade went through again and waiting league's approval. maloof's believe artest can turn their franchise around. well, that i gotta see. goodluck kings! EDIT : ITS OFFICIAL! ARTEST IS A KING, STOJAKOVIC IS A PACER! http://www.nba.com/news/artest_peja_060124.html
Finally. Now the rest of the league can get around to moving players (and maybe the rockets too. Can we lose the Mooch pretty please?)
Artest for Peja done deal http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blo...spn/blog/index?entryID=2304649&name=ford_chad What took them so long? posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | Feedback My immediate reaction to the reported deal that will send Ron Artest to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic -- what took them so long? No, I'm not talking about the on-again, off-again status of the trade the last 24 hours. I'll write a different column about that madness later. I'm talking about a much longer history of rumors that have entangled the fates of Artest and Stojakovic over the past year and a half. Not only was this trade rumor the thing that prompted Artest to demand a trade to the Indianapolis Star back in December. It was also a deal that was talked about in the summer of 2004. And it was a trade I implored both Pacers GM Larry Bird and Kings GM Geoff Petrie to make in November of 2004 before the Artest brawl. Stojakovic-Artest NOVEMBER 11, 2004: Fourteen months ago, we recommended a Peja-Artest swap. Why? Back in the fall of 2004, both players looked like they needed a change of scenery. Stojakovic was still pouting about the Kings' decision to let Vlade Divac go to the Lakers. His relationship with Chris Webber (and the rest of the team for that matter) was rocky and he started off the season in a major slump. Artest wasn't doing much better. He had already asked head coach Rick Carlisle for some time off during the season for personal issues due to mental and physical fatigue. Turns out Ronnie was spending night and day working on an album that consumed him. "My body has been aching. I was going to take some time off, and I said it the wrong way," Artest told reporters in November of 2004. "Everything that happened wasn't too negative. I kind of surprised the team by wanting to take some games off, just to get back together, maybe stay home for a little bit, rest a little bit and come back." To be fair to the Pacers, they would've gladly accepted an Artest-Stojakovic swap at the start of the 2004 season. It was the Kings who had cold feet back then too. And ... given Ronnie's subsequent actions, it's hard to be too harsh with Sacramento's decision to pass. However, in retrospect, you've got to wonder if pulling the trigger on the deal then would have saved the Pacers, Kings and the rest of the NBA a lot of heartache. The Kings knew Stojakovic was heading to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2006. If they didn't trade him before then, the chances that they would lose him for nothing were high. The Pacers knew that Artest was unreliable and a potential cancer in the locker room. Jermaine O'Neal was complaining loudly about Artest's behavior. Eight days later, Artest indeed did something that got him plenty of time off, charging into the stands after being hit by a cup of ice thrown by a fan. David Stern gave him the rest of the season to think about his behavior. The Pacers never seriously considered an Artest trade after the suspension. Given all the controversy, they knew they couldn't get a player of the caliber of Stojakovic given all the controversy. But once he get back on the court and started playing well, it should've been obvious that this was the right trade. Corey Maggette, had his foot been healthy, would've been better. Then again, had Maggette's foot been healthy, it's doubtful the Clippers would've offered him. Ike Diogu and Mickael Pietrus for Artest would've given the Pacers some building blocks. But for some strange reason, Warriors GM Chris Mullin never consented to putting Diogu in the deal. Lamar Odom would've been the best fit of the group. But the Lakers claim he was never offered while the Pacers probably would've balked at his huge contract anyway. That left the Pacers going full circle to where the rumors all started -- Peja. The pros and cons of the deal haven't really changed in 15 months -- which makes you wonder why they didn't pull the trigger earlier and save lots of heartache. Both players have their weaknesses and should be better with a new start. The Pacers will be a good fit for Stojakovic. They have missed Reggie Miller's sharpshooting. While Peja's looked like a shadow of the player he was during the 2003-04 season, he still brings a lot to the table. He has a work ethic and game that Bird loves. He has the ability to hit clutch shots, and with O'Neal drawing double-teams in the post, Peja should get plenty of wide-open looks on the perimeter. The Pacers will miss Artest's toughness and defense. There were times in the 2004 playoffs when he, not O'Neal, looked like the Pacers' MVP. However, his unreliability even carried over onto the court in big games -- let's not forget that he melted down a bit in the Eastern Conference Finals, shooting just 31 for 104 from the field. The Kings aren't going to get a better offer for Stojakovic than Artest. Put aside the off-court issues or his initial reluctance to play in Sacramento for a second. He is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the league, has emerged as a potent offensive player and has a toughness about him the Kings have sorely lacked the past few seasons. The Kings will miss Stojakovic's shooting, but they have another player, Mike Bibby, who can stroke it from 3-point range, and Artest isn't a shabby long-range shooter either. Meanwhile, their perimeter defense will take a huge leap forward. Kings fans probably aren't thrilled with the trade right now given Artest's actions the last 24 hours. However, if he starts playing the way he's capable of playing, the Kings will be a better team and the fans will eventually embrace Artest and all of his wackiness the way Pacers fans did for so long. Of course, both teams face risks that make this deal much shakier than it was 15 months ago. Stojakovic's production has fallen dramatically in the past season and a half, after he produced MVP-type numbers in the 2003-04 season. He's an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the chances that Indiana can afford to keep him if he gets a max offer from another team are slim unless this trade is going to be followed by more moves that give them some luxury tax wiggle room. Artest is a great player, and he's only is just 26 years old and is a great player. But does anyone believe that a move to Sacramento is going to solve all of his problems? For starters, I think it's safe to say that the Kings aren't his preferred destination. How will he react the first time he's booed by the Kings' fans. Is he mentally tough enough to overcome the fact that he's unlikely to get a warm embrace at the start. In other words, this isn't the clean slate Ronnie both wanted and needed. If the Kings continue to struggle in the win column, Ronnie won't be happy and Rick Adelman is going to have his hands full. Some will say that this will serve as a wake-up call to Artest -- that he'll focus on being a basketball player for once and dramatically help a team like Sacramento regain their former glory. But there's just no way to predict what Artest will or won't do in Sacramento, or anywhere else. And no way to predict whether Peja will ever regain the mojo he once had in Sacramento. In the end, two teams desperate enough to live with a little uncertainty decided to swap one question mark for the other. It's a match made in cyberspace.
