Ok, I've been reading the trading threads and everything that's been going on lately on this board incl. the comments by chronicle writers. Now my question is, why does everyone want Artest gone so badly ? It's not just, if the right trade comes along, it's like almost everybody wants him gone as soon as possible for whoever. Now why is that ? I know he's been calling out Tracy, but that was not such a bad thing since the whole team was frustrated with him and so were the fans. The other thing could be his play which are reflected in his stats; the terrible FG%, gambling on defense, terrible shot selection and the tendency to go 1-on-1 at times. However, I believe the good outweighs the bad. He has had more games where he stayed within the offense most of the game (occasionally going 1-on-1 and bulldozing his way to the basket can do good, just look at the double OT game vs. Jazz), he's been good off the bench, has showed leadership, has played good 1-on-1 defense and has brought some toughness to the team. Without Artest, we do not win against the Celtics because Ron can get away with physical play because he's known for it. He's an intimidator, unlike the rest of our team, so even if you do not like him we still need a guy like him come playoff time. The last thing I can think of is chemistry, something I've read on this board a few times but there have been no indications that that's the case. Of course, the problems with Tracy are obvious but outside of that there is nothing that could make me think Artest is a cancer in the lockerroom or something. So seriously, what is it ? A combination of his play, his personality and problems with T-mac or a chemistry thing ? Something I've overlooked maybe ?? Can some1 please enlighten me because the guy has played injured for 2-3 months now and has very helpful so far. Shouldn't the Rockets give him at least some more time than 3 and a half months ?
He's a very good player and I'd love to keep him. However, I don't think the rockets want to lock him in long term and his contract is up next season.
Personally, I am done with Mac, the issue is, Ron is in it for the dollars, we can't pay him what he wants, it won't happen. So, do we try to win it all this year, or stick with a mediocre deflated player.
It's not so much who we want to trade, it's more like Artest is easier to trade out of the 2. He has an expiring smaller contract, Tmac has a bigger longer contract.
a.) he's not the player we thought he'd be b.) have you seen his shooting percentage? c.) have you seen how much he gables? d.) have you seen his shooting percentages? e.) hes a ball hog and most importantly...hes likely gonna bolt this offseason. get value while we can.
My question is why McGrady? We are not resigning Artest after this season, that is clear. We will not be able to find a player of his caliber at his contract in free agency so we are essentially losing him. Also, his play has not been very impressive and he seems to have disruptive tendencies in the locker room. McGrady= very valuable trading piece next year as an expiring contract. Not to mention there is an off chance he could regain his health. When healthy, he is a better player than VC and Artest. IMO the Rockets are basically selling him when his value is at an all time low which is a mistake. I would rather see Artest gone or no trade at all, so we can be patient and plan for next year. As constructed, this team has potential to well in the playoffs this year, esp if McGrady can regain a little bit of his form. We don't need to make desperation trades
I agree completely, Mcgrady will be a hot commodity this time a year from now, and then we could get a piece to put us over the top. Add Vince now in the Artest package, see what happens(it can't be worse) and explore offers for Mcgrady around draft time or the trade deadline next year. The key is to try and land Vinsanity while still keeping our bench deep, beacause we all know how important a deep bench is in championship teams. I have faith in Morey to only make a deal that will improve this basketball team, but like I've said before, we are all in for a crazy couple of days.
I hope we could just trade tracy battier and head and keep artest. that way we have all positions filled and we can chose to resign him after the playoffs. tmac is done, chances are if its microsurgery with all the complications he had he might quit. That would be a 20mil write off to the nets and they can have battier and cap space even for this upcoming off season.
Why would the Rockets not resign Artest next year or why wouldn't Artest want to stay ? He's worth the money and the only problem he has is with Tracy and since the whole team has problems with him, the departure of Tracy would clear this whole mess up right ? DD, you think Artest is too wacko ?? Please tell me how you felt / feel about Vernon Maxwell ? The guy was emotional just like Artest and got into way more trouble than Ron but would you have dealt him after a half year so after 89-90 season ? Just like with Maxwell, the good outweighs the bad in my opinion.
I wouldn't sign with us either if we're gonna coddle some grown ass baby r****d. Artest is probably stirring up **** in the locker room by just telling the truth. I think a few of us would be doing the same thing in there if we could see the pathetic babying of T-mac.
[B]artest[/B] vince yao scola alston= champion contenders. tmac vince yao scola alston= lottery. morey dont be stupid trade shemace and throw in some extra money if you have to to get new jersey to take him. hell throw in head dorsey just to get him gone.
the amount of love ppl give artest here is hilarious...he can't shoot, he takes horrible shots, he takes the team out of sync, he's an overrated defender, that gambles at every chance he sees and he cant create his own shot when he trys to do it every time he gets the ball...he's not that good. HIS SKILLSET is good, but he isn't... like the difference between tmac/artest is from lottery to championship. lmao, for all we bash tmac, and rightfully so, freaking artest shoots EVEN worse, but he's tru warrior for only missing what 13 games? wow he's amazing, give him the max
To the OP, just wait for DD to give some bs post on why he should be trade, oh wait nm he already did. I love how people know know what a player is gonna do. Economy is changing but yet people on this board think players don't realize that. I'm quite happy for you guys that talk with and go bar hopping on the daily with him since you seem to be on the same page as him. abc, do you honestly think that is the reason why our record hasn't improved? there has been plenty of stat proven threads showing Artest has a good w/l record and a even better one without Tmac in the line up. 5 stars
Lol... It's a win-win situation as I see it. If we keep Artest, he creates trouble for anyone he guards. Remember how much Kobe, Lebron, and Paul Pierce were frustrated by his defense? And if he doesn't resign in the summer, that gives us some cap space to sign the big, but not as big as '10, '09 class.
