Let him retire. I'm tired of hearing about him doing something stupid again and again. I get tired of seeing athletes with all the talent in the world self-destructing on their own. You see athletes with desire and who love the game but can't fulfill their potential because of injuries. Then you see a guy like Artest with all of the talent in the world yet self-destructs. There is something mentally wrong with him so let him go into retirement and fix whatever it is.
I doubt he will retire. For someone like him not to have basketball could be a very bad thing. He needs something the channel his energies into and he better find something else in a hurry if he leaves the NBA. Idle time and a lack of accountability to some cause or purpose can make people like Ron Artest flip off more than ever. For his own good, he should continue playing in the NBA. IMO.
I think you're right that basketball is probably good for Artest. And, I know he won't retire. But, damn I wish he would.
The rockets should try to get him. Character is over rated its all about winning and losing. Don't tell me all you guys didn't root for maxwell when he was on the rockets.
Basketball is probably good for Artest, but Artest isn't good for basketball. Even before the brawl in Detroit, Artest had made a name for himself as a trouble maker. Whether it's flipping off the crowd, smashing expensive TV cameras, pissing off his coach and getting suspended, or getting arrested, this guy just does not know how to freaking stop.
Character is not overrated. When Mad Max got to Artest levels of kookiness, thankfully he left the team and we won a 2nd championship without him. When his crazyness was manageable, he was a valuable member of the Rockets for several years. Artest also used to be manageable but now he's crossed into the twilight zone. After his stupid retaliation in the playoffs against the Pistons that may have cost the Pacers a trip to the Finals, after his nuclear blowup in the Palace, after he burned the Pacers to a crisp after coming back and after this season with the Kings, any NBA team that puts him into a key role is out of their mind. Perhaps any franchise that would sign him at all is crazy. I don't want him here.
I doubt he actually has that much money. His salary isn't very high and the guy is not known for being the Warren Buffet of NBA players... In fact, I remember he broke Jordan's rib because Jordan was trashtalking about how he was poor because blowing all of his (rookie scale) salary on stupid **** like handing out money to random strangers. He has more money now, but a tiger doesn't change his stripes.
The dude makes 7 million a year. You don't think you could live the rest of your life on what he makes in a year?
Even if he "retires" it would only be one of those six month retirements until a contender comes along calling his number.
It's not like he'd get any playing time anyway. He'd probably have start off on the bench or something, as long as it is coached JVG. He and JVG won't get along, and then we only see Artest make infrequent appearances on the bench and one or two minutes into the game. Then, he gets a little more pt when Yao or T-Mac goes down, then all of sudden, Artest is back on the bench again and suddenly disappears from Houston rotation for the rest of season.
Glad I didn't redraft him in my keeper league. I doubt he'll retire though, too much money to give up.
