via real gm: wolves trying to get artest, should we?

Artest or Harrington would give our frontcourt some much needed toughness and attitude. I'm sure Van Gundy would love to have either one. Both are the type of hard-nosed players he likes.

Boy, the Wolves sure have been active this offseason. ESPN Insider also reported Juwan Howard is close to signing with them. If the Wolves manage to add Cassell, Howard, and Harrington/Artest without giving up much of anything, the Rockets may be 4th in the midwest for a while.

 

I like Harrington's game. He's pretty much everything that we hope Griffin to become. He plays well around the basket, he fights for loose balls and rebounds, and he has range out to the three-point line.

Artest is too much of a cry baby and a head case. He's better suited for a team like the Blazers who collect nut cases like baseball cards.

 

It says they are wanting Al Harrington......then they will have 3 tall skinny guys! Garnett, Ebi, and Harrington! Fantastic!

But it also says they would like Artest....he would probably play shooting guard then...they would have too many good players! Cassell, Hudson, Wally, Ebi, Artest, Garnett, Nesterovic.......

If I wanted cap relief and at least some talent...I would rather get Terrell Brandon than Glen Rice.

If we got Artest, man......Francis, Mobley, and Artest would be one bad trio. Bad influence on Boki and Yao and Badiane...Or maybe it would be awesome. Artest is the best defender in the NBA and he can also play point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and maybe even power forward.....he's very tough and plays good mind games.

I would trade Rice for him.........

 

I know Harrington stepped up last year and had a few decent games but what about Jonathan Bender? This guy was drafted like number five but has yet to do ANYTHING on the court. Are they still waiting for this guy or is he allready considered a major bust?

 

I would trade Mobley for him.

 

What's wrong with James Posey?

 

The Pacers are trying desperately to move Croshere because they need his huge contract off the books so they can sign BMiller,RMiller and Oneal.

Doubtful that the Pacers will just be able to move Croshere's contract alone. More than likely we may see Croshere and Al Harrington/Ron Artest packaged together in a trade. That way the team gets a solid player in either Harrington or Artest and the contract albatross in Croshere. Obviously the Pacers don't want to give up on Artest or Harrington but them may have to do it to sign BMiller and Oneal, both of which are more important to the team in the long run.

Talk is that the Wolves are trying to send Brandon's contract to the Pacers for the Croshere and Harrington/Artest deal. The Pacers are balking now...but when push comes to shove they might pull the trigger. It all depends on what else is out there for trades.


The question for the ROCKETS is, do they want to get into this action? We still have Rice's expiring contract that is worth something. It is 9 million off the cap after next season.

How interesting would it be if we could move Rice and (someone else to match salaries) for Croshere and Artest?

Imagine this lineup, Francis, Artest, Posey, Griffin and Yao. Think JVG would not love to have 2 solid workers in Posey and Artest on the team to add to the scorers of Yao and Francis? Seems like a match made in heaven! Who NEEDs a PF banger when we have a defensive enforcer like Artest on the team and a high energy guy like Posey? Artest is not just a defensive player. He can score in bunches too and has a 3pt shot. And sometimes played the PG role on the Pacers late in games!

Anyone here like the idea of getting a player like Artest on this team? I know he is a head case, but could he be controlled better with a guy like JVG at the helm?

Just something to chew on.

 

As far as Artest goes, he is a good basketball player but doesn't he have some mental illness issues after what happened last season. This would be my only reservation with him; he seemed too out-of-control last year.

 

Don't form your opinions based on media coverage. Artest is looking like a special player in this league, head case or not. And even if he is a head case, we know he's a hard worker as he is one of those rare players that take pride in playing good, hard-nosed defense. I don't like the on court tirades, but I can live with them to get a player like Artest on the Rockets.

 

Good call. Bender is a talented player that just can't get off the bench due to the players that are in front of him at power forward on the Pacers. The few times Bender has received playing time, he's blocked shots with the best of them and has shown a lot of energy. Ironically, his situation is most comparable to the situation Jermaine O'Neal had in Portland early in his career.