Ok, on potential and heart, I'm voting Artest. I think his potential is sky high and he CAN be a top five player in the NBA. You have that guy down low and TMac doesn't need to take it to the hole as much. He also plays his heart out when he's on the court. He willed Sac into the playoffs two years ago. But on the flip side...I honestly believe he's bipolar. Look at those crazy eyes! On the other hand, we have Lewis, who's been accused of being soft. He's a bonafide allstar, but his upside isn't nearly as good as Artest. Still, we're stacked with stars. But how would him being here effect him? Would he take it up another notch with momma's home cookin' every home game? Or would he play with a chip on his shoulder and enjoy his hometown celebrity TOO much? They are both big gables.
People talk about gambling, about Artest is cheaper.The Kings gambled. They lost. We gambled cheap for Swift. We lost. We gambled cheap for Derek Anderson. We lost. We gambled cheap for Wells. We lost. But with Artest, when he blows up, you don't just lose a player. He's going to disrupt the team so much that you lose at least a season. You might lose an otherwise good coach too. Not worth it. For those who think Artest can bring toughness to the team, there is a difference between a tough guy and a psycho thug.
It's an interesting question because I think if the cost was Battier, I certainly wouldn't do the deal. That leaves you with absolutely NOTHING when (not if, but when) he flakes out on us too. But you're talking about a situation where potentially Sacramento is willing to take on our garbage, then you absolutely have to pull the trigger. You go into the deal knowing that you get two years out of this guy best case scenario, knowing you're getting one of the top 15 best players in the game, hell maybe even top 10 most impactful players in the game (seeing how elite Indiana was with him and how Sacramento quickly turned it around after he was acquired) and you go about trying to win a damn championship in those 2 years. After that, McGrady retires and you've really lost nothing for the experience. The other factor you're looking at here is the cost. Paying Lewis near max money plus giving up your only trade asset versus trading your garbage for Artest at $8/9million, when it's pretty undisputed that the latter is clearly the better player. I think that obtaining Lewis even at that cost is a necessity when you don't have that 3rd guy. We desperately need a 3rd guy. However, the proposed deal for Artest is a no-brainer IMO. Re: Battier, I wouldn't necessarily deal him as a consequence of adding Artest. The reason to trade Battier is because he's your only trade bait on a team in desperate need of a 3rd guy. But if you get Artest as that 3rd guy, you don't move Shane Battier just to clear up some logjam. As the 4th best player on your team, he can make everything fit together. So you don't just turn around and trade him for Wilcox or some other question mark like that. If you have the luxury of Artest, you only deal him if it's a no-brainer. Play Battier, Artest, and McGrady together with Wells off the bench, Artest at the 4.
I will wait and see but it doesn't seem like either one of those guys will be here. I will not mind it one bit, at least the Rockets will be busy this Summer. I can't wait till October.
artest fo sho In regards to Bonzi Wells' free agent status and re-signing with the Sacramento Kings, Ron said, "[Bonzi] called me last week. I told him if he leaves, then I'm going to kill him. Unless he wants to die, he's got to stay (with the Kings)." I think he'll fit in LOL
Artest would be better at attacking the basket than Lewis IMO, which would make our offense better. I'm sure Lewis could hit outside shots better and probably rebound better, but we need an attacker on this team more than anything. We are softer than wet toilet paper with Lewis, with Artest, he's so feared that it could make houston a scary team that the rest of the league would hate to play against. I feel that if Shards offense isn't working he would not change the game as much Artest would on a bad shooting night. "THE GOOD GUYS" mentality is really holding teams back in Houston these days....its time for all of our teams to seek an edge, and fearless players bring that edge to a team. I think Artest would love to play on this team and bask in the glory of winning like rodman enjoyed so much. WINNING could help sway the nasty image Artest has made for himself, its time for him to slightly impact his legend with some rings on his fingers. Artest has a better chance of doing something special in Houston than almost any other situation in my opnion and more than Lewis, but I will not complain if either one came.
Ron Ron hands down - Shard is too expensive, carrying 3 max players is not realistic. - Ron Ron can be our lock-down wing player, which makes Battier tradable. - Trade Battier for a decent PF, Sign a decent PG with MLE. We are all set.
Our field goal % defense may not be where it was this year, if we had Rashard Lewis in the lineup, but I do feel that he is the better choice. Last year, we couldn't make a shot or get a rebound when it counted. I feel that Rashard can help us in both areas, and he is also not a head case, in other words you know what he brings to the table each night.
I agree that aquiring Artest does not mean we have to move Battier. Imagine a team with Artest and Battier on the court at the same time. Artest may be the best one on one lock down defender in the game and Battier may be the best help defender in the game. With Artest and Battier you would have 2 players that can move up and down the line up between SG, SF and PF. Personally I think I would rather have Artest starting at the SG and Move TMac back to the SG position while bringing Battier off of the bench to back both players up.
I'd rather have Lewis. The deal for Artest is better from the standpoint of what we give up, but I would prefer not to have a psycopath on the team that can't control himself. Artest also likes to dominate the ball on offense at times despite not being the best option on the court at the time.
The problem with Lewis is that he doesn't play like a big. I'd feel more comfortable putting Artest on opposing 3's or 4's. And the problem with Artest is ... well everyone knows.
Lets see now, if you told me about 4 years ago that we could get Francis, Artest, Yao, T-Mac and Battier on your squad I'd have asked you what kinda crack pipe you been smoking! That team has a Team USA member on it, and 4 All Star Caliber players on it. I said All-Star Caliber because Artest will never win a popularity contest to make it to the All-Star game. Francis, well everyone here already knows Francis. Four years ago, we looked at the Francis T-Mac trade as giving up some bit players and an All-Star for an All-Star. I mean..think about it. HOLY ****!!! Francis and T-Mac together? It boggles the mind. Add Artest, Battier and Yao to the mix whoa! You would have told me that 4 years ago I'd say you were living in an illegal cloud and having hallucinations of the third degree.
