Why not? That would be the final nail in Mark Cuban's coffin. Let him go and do something that stupid. Unlike other folks around here, I am not so desperate that I'm willing to make a deal with the devil (and an insane devil) to bring this nutcase here. They have enough problems without having to go out looking for more and they have been down this path before with disasterous results (how quickly they all forget Pippen).
Artest's Pros greatly outnumber the cons, also, who wouldn't change with the great group of guys we have around, brad miller and those thugs just helped keep him the way he is, all he needs is some love
I'm not a fan of Artest as a person, from all the media reports, but as a player he's special, and signing him is probably one of the only ways the already-good Rockets could get significantly better. That term Carlisle used, "difference maker," is exactly how I see him. Defensively and offensively, he's so good that I think it would be worth signing him, even if it meant having to trade away the anti-Artest, Shane Battier, who seems like a truly good guy. Normally, I'd be opposed to trading Battier under any circumstances, because he's so good defensively and in terms of team chemistry. Hell, I'd love to have both Battier and Artest on the team (maybe Battier's good vibes would offset Artest's bad vibes), but that doesn't seem practical.
dont overestimate his willingness to go over the cap. he could have kept findlay but more importantly nash if it wasnt for the cap. hes an idiot.
While I do agree that he is a great player, he has some major on-court flaws. He pissed off Theus many times this year, and Theus has shown a major willingness to sit him and the Kings faired pretty well given their expectations. While he is an offensive bull with underrated passing skills, his shot selection is erratic and so is his shooting. He breaks off a lot of plays to go one-on-one...but then again his finishing strength around the bucket is among the best. I don't know if BJax (cap relief) + Head (cap relief/filler) + draft pick is enough. I fear Scola or Landry or Brooks or more draft picks are needed unless Artest demands to go to Houston. Would Artest be worth it to lose a Landry or Scola or Brooks or 2 first rounders?
I wouldn't give either Scola or Landry. I like Brooks but honestly I don't think he can ever be more than a decent backup PG. You're absolutely right Artest will cost either Scola/Landry/Brooks, a couple of 1st rounders plus expiring contracts. The Kings will try to fleece us and Artest will undoubtedly look for a long term contract which pays him big bucks.If he blows up in Houston we could get in big trouble. I feel that the Kings will prefer to trade him and get the best offer that they can like they did in February. I agree with your comments about his skills too.In addition I also feel that he isn't a very good ball handler either but I do like his ability to bully and finish around the basket and get to the FT line. He is a very good defender too.
Doesn't matter, going into the crowd to beat the **** out of someone is deserving of a lifetime of negative press. What about the random foul out game he had where it appeared he was just fouling to leave the game, I mean totally just hacking at nothing when the ball wasn't even on the other side of the court. Dude is whack, he's good, but whack man. He is a sf, I don't care to move Shane, so I say no thanks. I think Shane will be fine here, just needs to cut and go up for more easy baskets more, easy for me to say, I'm not guarding the other teams best players night in and night out.
This guy is nuts. He's just as liable to flip out and attack Yao as he is to go back into the stands or after Clutch the Bear. I simply didn't realize that so many folks around here liked this guy. They must have been among the few dozen who bought his rap album.
not to pick bones, but logically that was flawed. to get artest, regardless how realistic or unrealistic it is, will be a gamble. i think many of us feel like we are inches out to be a championship-contending when all healthy, so that we need a "difference-maker" to push us over the hurdle. but to do that, do we HAVE TO get him or is he THE best option for us? i don't think so. to get those extra few inches, we can get done in other ways. i just don't feel we're THAT desparate to gamble on artest.
It sounds like Artest has every intention to stay in Sac: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/archives/012627.html He's flaky so he may change his mind but it looks like he will remain a King at this point.
Getting Artest is not like signing Bonzi or Francis for cheap. Those guys if they wouldn't pan out, we could just shrug and move on. To get Artest, we will have to give up at least one player from our core (Battier, Scola, and/or Landry). It's a big gamble. I think the risk is as insane as Artest himself. You don't give up a core guy for someone as flaky as Artest, not when you just need your core to be healthy to contend.
call me crazy but you bring that kind of fire on THIS pu$$y Rockets roster and we can win games all day... we don't have ONE player that shows that kind of heart and fire that this team needs...hell, we got Landry getting his ****ing teeth knocked out by some freakin POS Jazz player... that won't happen if Artest is on this team... p.s. i read the first few posts and then posted as soon as i saw that video...i'll go back and read up...
LMFAO !!!! i read all the posts...people are basically catching on to what i was saying during the Rockets horrible firt round implosion about WHY WE NEEDED ARTEST !!!!!!! and i saw a few trade proposals that i had mentioned last month: Landry, Brooks and the 26th pick for Artest Battier and the 26th pick for Artest Landry Bjax and the 26th pick for Artest and for all you people wondering why i'm singleing out Landry it's because of this: Landry is a tenacious player and a dunker when he's under the basket...he gets most of his points from camping out under the basket as T-Mac or Rafer dish to him...outside of that he can't shoot a 16 footer and he can't create his own shot... he probably wouldn't be a starter on any other team in the West but now that his stock has grown, TRADE HIM !!!!! not sure how many people actually believe Landry is gonna be some force to be reckon with next year
I would give the Kings any combination or all of the following players and picks for Artest: Battier, Head, Alston, Brooks, Bobby Jackson, and one or two first round draft picks. If you don't want Ron Artest on this team, then you're the crazy one.
My sig used to say "Get Darko and Artest!" I changed it not because I thought they were bad moved, I just thought about the moneyball concept more. My reason for both were for a few reasons Artest gives the ro toughness on both ends of the court and a guy that could get a good shot for himself or others. Darko, I thought was worth part of the mle. I thought a 7'1 shotblocker under the age of 22 to play alongside Yao and when Yao goes out, they could slide him over and play center. He's a good finisher and although he will never live up to the #2 draft pick, I thought playing with the rox he could be a 10 ppg 8rebs 2blk guy that still had room to get better. Back to Artest, we can ignore and stick our head in the sand regarding this roster. Artest brings the same elements that made Maxwell a vital cog on a championship team. If Hakeem was the center, then I wouldn't think there would be a need for Artest, but when ur center is on the soft side, I think theres a huge need for a Artest type. This team even with the regular season success will continue to have problems with a team like Utah who like to play physical Battier,Rafer and the Luther types really can't respond and raise their level of play during the playoffs. The lack of another guy that can get his own shot or setup others is one of the reasons why this team struggles to score points during the playoffs. Artest answers at of questions on both ends that the can't just fid anwhere. I know people like the mike miller type, but he's struggles with the physical play of the spurs and the finesse play of the suns duing the playoffs. Yes his regular season stat look good, but will he stand up to the pushing and pulling associated with playoffs hoops. Probably not. Now if u want to win a few more regular season games, trade for miller, but if u want to win a ring, u get artest.
