Via chat session with ESPN Insider Chris Sheridan: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=10449 Rob, MN: Delayed by an important call, eh??...Please tell me it Kevin Mchale telling you he finally was able to deal McCant and Kandi Man for Artest. Chris Sheridan: (12:38 PM ET ) It was an important call concerning Artest and what might happen now that the Maggette deal is dead. I think the Pacers are no closer to doing anything with the Nuggets, Warriors or Timberwolves than they were 2 weeks ago, but I'm hearing that the Rockets _ who don't have anything outside of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady that interests the Pacers _ are trying to find a player that Indiana does like. The end result would be a three- or four-way trade that would bring Artest to Houston.
I always wondered why the Rockets aren't mentioned in the Artest mix. They have an expiring contract (Wesley), a young, cheap talent (Head), and what will probably be a lotto pick to offer. On talent alone, Artest is exactly what this team needs. I don't know if he could rescue this season, but we'd be right up there with the Spurs next year (assuming TMac can stay healthy).
I think the Rockets should take some risks, I don't know about a Ron Artest risk though, I fear he may hurt T-Mac in practice, like he hurt Jordan.
you know if we somehow did pull this off, i see a strong push toward the playoffs with t-mac, yao, and ronny. who in the world would want to play us in the playoffs??? plus we could finally unload ryan bowen bc now we have another perimeter defender in artest
I am not too sure if Les Alexander would be the type that would go for Artest. Bond Traders are risk averse people- they always hedge their bets! IF we are just speaking about basketball- Artest would be a great addition but I will believe this only if I see any authentic source. Too good to be true!
Let us not forget that Les traded for Barkley and Pippen - neither as bad as Artest, but not saints either. Les loves big splashes! Really, can Artest be any worse than Mad Max?
Having Artest on a team will have a lot of risks for sure. But if you think what's this team missing most? You probably wont find a guy can play best defense and score 18-20 points every night with only making less than 7 millions. MLE wont bring a 3rd option to Rockets.
Not only that, we really need a tough tough guy with attitude. Both TMac and Yao are just too gentle.
Furious Jam, I agree and not to steal your line but I would even go one step further... On energy alone... On attitude alone... On hustle alone... On offense alone... On defense alone... Artest is exactly what this team needs. theSAGE
Ditto, Head has been playing great and i would like to see him develope here in Houston. Everyone else is up on the chopping block. I'm still a little unsure about a trade for artest but with everyone injured there is nothing much the rockets can do. -Lal Salam
What the quote said was that it would involve at least 1 or 2 other teams ... basically Houston doesn't have what Indy wants, but other teams might, so a 3- or 4-way trade that would bring Artest to Houston is what's being discussed.
OK, I'm just going to cut this off at the pass. We all know that there are a multitude of jokes that can be made with this post, so don't bother. I agree with Furious. Les has never been afraid to make a big splash and take risks with signing/trading for players. I wouldn't be surprised if a deal is being worked out behind the scenes. I'm just not sure if there is a deal to be made. I was against getting him before but now..what the hell. Take a chance.
