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

Ever since last night, I've had this sinking feeling that this is it for the Rockets and trades. I'm still in shock that we would not only be on the losing end talent wise of this deal, but that we would do it with our direct competition. It just makes absolutely no sense to me. Is saving the luxury tax THAT important to Le$ that he's willing to make our division rivals (who we are only 4 games behind at the moment) better, AND jeopardize our team's chemistry in the process? I have always said that Les has been a good owner in the past, but if this is it for us today, then I really have to question whether Les's priorities have taken a dive. After the last decade that this team has been through, don't we as fans deserve to see a team out there that has a chance at winning?

 

why does it matter if you're chinese or not?

 

My bad, E!!!!! All though, that would be awesome!

 

looking at the squad now, i think the rox just open up a space for Artest. But looking at the squad, its hard to match the numbers. I'm sure morey would make something out of it.

 

we could at least keep daydreaming.

Man, this is depressing

 

I think you are overvaluing Bonzi and undervaluing Jackson. It may be that we may have lost a little this year, but this trade is about the future. Getting rid of James' contract will allow us to pursue players that will be a better fit for what we need next year (or maybe even this year with Artest).

Do you really believe that the marginal (and disputable) advantage that Bonzi gives us over Jackson, will allow us to beat the Lakers with Gasol or Phoenix with Shaq. Maybe Les is just letting his GM do what is best for the team over the next several years. If Les was so concerned about money he wouldn't have signed James to begin with.

This is not baseball. You can't buy championships. The salary cap rules make it difficult to make blockbuster deals or sign free agents, even if you are willing to pay luxury taxes.

 

Thats all good RTerry but whatever happened to "win now". If thats the way you wanna look at it we should have kept Rudy Gay. If I were a gambling man i would bet that McGrady would get hurt or catch a cold or have personal problems before Raefer. We now need a backup 2/3. Yao and Tmac aint gettin younger. When is it finally gonna be next year?

 

We were never going to get Rudy Gay, but I sure wanted us to and to not make the Battier trade. I just don't think that Bonzi Wells is the difference maker of winning now. Getting rid of Bonzi does not mean we are mailing in the season. It just seems like a prudent move in case we don't win this year, maybe we can get a better player to help us win next year. If McGrady gets hurt or catches a cold we are done anyway. Bonzi can step in better than Jackson, but not enough to make us a contender.

 

My dad called me from Phoenix and he said that Rockets are offering !st round pick/Battier/Snyder for Artest

per sports radio in Arizona-my dad does not live there so I'm not sure if it was local or national

 

It was a salary dump, and it cost us Bonzi Wells. Several western conference teams have gotten stronger, while we just got slightly weaker.

 

Don't they require Brooks?

 

I'd give up brooks before I give up Battier... if artest leaves we are screwed in that position on defense... i say we keep battier, sac. brooks, use bobby as his replacement, and try to pick up another young PG in the draft.

 

This rumor said that is what the Rockets were willing to part with

 

Hmm....man, wouldnt that be sweet if we got Artest today!!! My question is this...if the big holdup in the Kings deal with Denver is Kleiza, how can we not beat that?

 

This makes sense to include Battier instead of the glut of guards I proposed. The roster spots makes a lot more sense for the Kings.

Battier/Snyder/1st would be a fair deal for Artest.

Rotation if Artest deal is made:

Alston/Jackson/Brooks
Tmac/Head/Jackson
Artest/Novak/Tmac
Scola/Artest/Landry/Hayes
Yao/Scola/Landry/Deke

I read that Marc Stein says the Nuggets have basically pulled themselves out of the Artest sweepstakes and are now focusing on moving Nene to the Nets or Heat.

If the Rockets were truly interested in Artest, I think Artest will be a Rocket by 2PM in Houston. If not, the Rockets are going to war with the current squad, and we've got to support them. Go Rockets

 

Since we traded Mike James, Battier has pretty much the only contract on the team that we can use to match salaries.

 

Bill Simmons posted that trade up on his blog:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons&entryDate=20080220

Trade 2B: Houston trades Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder and its 2008 No. 1 pick to Sacramento for Ron Artest and a 2008 No. 2 pick.

Why Sacramento does it: That's a pretty good haul for Artest when he could bolt four months from now -- a valuable supporting guy at a fair price, along with a pick in the low 20s. So what if Battier went to Duke? You can't hold that against him. He didn't know any better when he signed there.

Why Houston does it: The deal knocks them under the luxury tax and makes the Rockets a little more interesting as a title contender -- they could go small with Artest at the 4 and/or run plays for him at crunch time, and he'd give them a fiestiness and an edge they don't quite have right now. The Rockets seem a little soft to me. I'm not saying it's Battier's fault, but he's the best trade chip for them because of his contract and his pedigree. You could always use Shane Battier on your team. I like this deal for both teams, actually.

 

Maybe they're just quoting the Sports Guy :

Trade 2B: Houston trades Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder and its 2008 No. 1 pick to Sacramento for Ron Artest and a 2008 No. 2 pick.

Why Sacramento does it: That's a pretty good haul for Artest when he could bolt four months from now -- a valuable supporting guy at a fair price, along with a pick in the low 20s. So what if Battier went to Duke? You can't hold that against him. He didn't know any better when he signed there.

Why Houston does it: The deal knocks them under the luxury tax and makes the Rockets a little more interesting as a title contender -- they could go small with Artest at the 4 and/or run plays for him at crunch time, and he'd give them a fiestiness and an edge they don't quite have right now. The Rockets seem a little soft to me. I'm not saying it's Battier's fault, but he's the best trade chip for them because of his contract and his pedigree. You could always use Shane Battier on your team. I like this deal for both teams, actually.

 

that would be a Morey-esque move. If you trade for Artest, Battier immediately becomes obsolete. This also plays well for the Rockets if they plan to re-sign Artest.

 

So the Rockets really don't want to give up AB for Artest. What the hell is wrong with them? They would rather give up Shane than AB. I hope this rumor isn't true, but I do hope that we trying to get Artest.