Artest Stays With Kings link Jul 01, 2008 5:26 AM EST Volatile forward Ron Artest decided against opting out of his contract and will remain with the Sacramento Kings for 2008-09, unless he is traded, according to a report on ESPN. "Not opting out," Artest told ESPN.com's Marc Stein via e-mail Monday night. "The Kings have been there for me, so the best I could do is stay in my contract." Artest's agent Mark Stevens confirmed that his client will fulfill the final year, worth nearly $8 million.
This is such a stupid move IMO. He could at least get $10 million per year for 3-4 years on the open market. Jamison, 32, just got a 4 year at $50 million. You'd think that even with all his eratic behavior he'd get something comparable. Horrible move.
And who with cap room was going to offer Artest more than the MLE? The Wizards have Jamison's bird rights, so they were able to basically pay him whatever they wanted. The only teams with the ability to do that this year for Ron is the Kings and the teams with lots of cap room, and obviously no one was biting or he would have opted out.
exactly, and imagine if what happened to well happened to artest, heads would roll literally there can't be that big of a market for a guy who wanted to take time off fromt the season to promote his rap album LOL. we forget how crazy dude really is
That's what I was thinking. Headcases like these guys aren't as marketable as they think. And his agent must be scared to death of the Bonzi fiasco happening again to his client. A lot of people on this board grossly overvalue Artest.
With several teams thinking & planning ahead to the 2010 Free Agent Class, the market for Max Free Agents in 2008 & 2009 is going to be on the tight side. Memphis is on a budget. Nets have been paring down the payroll. Knicks would probably like to dump some longterm contracts for some ending sooner. Utah isn't cherished as a destination by most players. Other teams either have younger players coming up for renewals soon or have expensive older players (Dallas and Detroit) that make dealing more complicated. The expected Big Payday for the 2010 FA class is making it tougher on the 2008 and 2009 FA Classes.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3469895 Artest already saying it was a mistake to not opt
maybe he'll demand a trade to the rockets and specify that he must be traded for a package of jackson and francis?
As much as I would have hated to see him sign with a rival for less, at least that would have spoken more of his desire to win and be a part of history. If he had picked up an option for 17.8 million, I'd be a willing party to understanding. Eight million? That's close to minimum wage in comparison! There's one thing I haven't considered that blows my mind... loyalty? Nooooo, it can't be, could it? That team sucks and will continue to suck for a couple years.
This is good news for those that wanted Artest (me). There was no way we could have signed him with MLE. Trade in progress, perhaps??
Ron Ron will be prime trade bait this season. Getting him for half a season would be a steal for a contender. He would play with something to prove because of being unrestricted next summer. I can see him finishing the season and playoffs with a flourish for some lucky team. Unless he completely flips out and goes nuclear, I wouldn't mind Artest coming to the Rockets at the trade deadline. I DO NOT want him starting the season here.
What's a Bobby Jackson for? It's good that no one got him. Our mitts was made for him. Or at least himish.
i saw a quote on the espn bottomline that said not opting out may be the biggest mistake, hahaha. ron ron, you should have just opted out, at worst, a one year deal would have been possible anywhere had you not been able to find the multiyear deal you were looking for. i am guessing this quote was in reaction to bdiddy's 65 mil and gil's 127 mil contracts, but ronron wasn't going to get anything close to those IMO.
