[David Aldridge] NBA TV: Houston trying to trade for Ron Artest

ummm... if we trade for Artest, don't you think we want he to take those minutes? You make it sound like it's a bad thing. Do the Suns trade for Shaq worrrying about someone losing minutes at the 5? No...that's why you would trade for the player to begin with. Artest's versitility allows him to play multible positions. I see all the players on our roster trimming some minutes, thus keeping them fresher for Playoffs.
Yao 32 Landry 16
Scola 30 Artest 10 Landry 8
Artest 20 Battier 28
Tmac 30 Wells 18
Rafer 35 Head 13
-V

 

Now,every trade is possible in west conference.

 

You are of course assuming that Adleman pays attention to minutes. So far this season that hasn't been shown to be true as Yao regularly plays over 40 min per game.

 

that's kinda of the point. But the problem is that we'd lose our only functional backup point guard.

 

I agree.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Kings have been coveting Brooks since before the last draft. They likely won't do any deal with us that doesn't involve Brooks.

 

Yeah that's what bothers me. What if Rafer goes down with an injury? Who's going to play the point? Head? Bonzi? T-Mac?

 

disagree,we can give up brooks, he will never be a starter in this league,just think about it!

 

I don't think we are in win mode now or lose out quite just yet. With T-mac and Yao both having at least a few years left, it would be pre-mature to lose a guy for brooks for renting a player for half-a-season for the hope of cracking through to a ring.

I don't like that strategy. Better to wait until the offseason. A little patience may put us in a better position. If we don't win a ring and Artest bolts, and we watch Brooks become a better pg than rafer - you know how much we'll be kicking ourselves for years ala Rudy Gay.

It's such a huge risk....it's not like Artest is the last hope for us to ever win a ring. There's better rolls of the dice. No we won't be a contender this year, but can't we just win a playoff series and find out how good this team is?

 

If we get Artest, then the point is that he will play and take minutes away from others. I'll trust the coach to make the necessary substitutions and rotations. The argument is whether the negative impact of replacing Brooks with Head outwieghs the positive of gaining Artest. I think your point about someone losing minutes is not a concern but a fact that accompanies a trade.
-V

 

yes he will, trust me, ppl never look at jose calderon because hes shadowed by TJ Ford, right now the raptors thinks highly of caleron. the samethign could happen to brooks besides we need a back up point guard

 

Brooks...you going to leave us if Brooks goes to the Kings?
-V

 

Head or James... Look the point is "if" we consider our pg position to be weak... it is because Rafer isn't as good as Paul or Williams or Kidd or Nash or whoever... if those guys go down it hurts their team...just like it hurts us... the Spurs had Vaughn filling in for Parker... do guys like C.J. Watson, Barea, Atkins, Pargo particularly stike fear into you...IT IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM WHEN A STARTER IS INJURED....you don't hesitate trading a bench player for a starting caliber player on the whim that your starter might go down...that is crazy... You think New Orleans would go..."oh Pargo for Artest...no way! What if Chris Paul goes down...we won't be too bad if we keep Pargo..."
Look, the debate about Brooks is over his upside and potential... the guy could possibly be special and that's the reason you don't do the trade. However, fear of rotation changes (which is a mutual causality with any trade) and fear that a starter will go down are not good enough reasons to not make the trade...If we still had John Lucas III and this trade was on the table...well, needless to say the decision is a bit easier.
-V

 

I'm not worried about Battier losing minutes because the overall positive for our team would be better with Artest. If we needed to defensively clamp down on two players you could play Battier and Artest at the same time. However, losing Brooks would make us extremely weak at the PG position. If we had a healthy Francis or if Mike James could actually hit a shot or pass the ball off (both unlikely), then I wouldn't have hesitated trading Brooks away. But Brooks was on the USA select team. Lebron, Kobe, Kidd all said the kid was good and had a bright future in the NBA. You don't want to trade away a kid like this. The only way I do this is if they give us Udrih. They don't have anyone else who can run the pt over there either. Reggie Theus referred to Udrih as the calvary when they signed him. So it's unlikely that we would part with Brooks. I don't think Morey would want to do this so Morey might offer a counterproposal with a deal Head and James for Artest. Maybe throw in a draft pick. I don't think the Kings would bite on this though.

 

Wait and see.

 

At least something good may come from trading AB.

 

LOL

 

Bonzi is one of our few expiring contracts so his involvement in any deal involving one of these teams looking to slash payroll is kind of a necessity.

Not to mention, with T-Mac, Battier, Bonzi and Artest how exactly would you find minutes for everybody? You can't which is why Bonzi is a necessary sacrifice in order to land one of these coveted swingmen.

 

The biggest value Artest has for the Rockets this season is his defensive prowess.

I'm betting if we get him, his defensive assignment will be the opponent's best perimeter player in this case, it could be Deron, Kobe, Carmelo, AI, Chris, Nash, Parker or Ginobili.

Arest shuts these guys down, the 2008 Finals beckons.

 

brooks and head for artest, then maybe, even if he op out after this year we only lose brooks and head, i wouldnt give up battier for anyone, his defense and teamplay is underated, he's an upgrade over bruce bowen and you guys are b****ing about trading battier. Even if artest screw up team chemistry and refuse to play within the system we can bench him, and we lost brooks and head doesnt mean the end of the world.