+1 3rd scorer/star?: Check A physical leader?: Check A slasher?: Check Even more defense?!: Check A guy that can scare Chuck Norris himself?!: Check I love this trade.
Can't wait to see Artest and Dorsey on the court at the same time. We went from a pretty soft team to a team with a good ammount of physical toughness now. I hope we play the jazz again in the 1st round. Nice job by Morey.
<i>"I think I made the biggest mistake by staying in my contract and I have to live with it," Artest said. "I had some misleading information [in making the] decision on not opting out. [But] I still thank God for all his blessings and being able to play basketball and help people." <b>~ Ron Artest</b></i> <b>VIEWPOINTS</b> In general, people usually fall into two camps, those who think people can’t change who they are and those who think they can. My father falls into the first camp, I the latter. There’s no wrong or right, it’s just an opinion, a viewpoint on life. The signing of Ron Artest is the about the same thing. As a basketball player, nobody argues about whether he brings it or not. It’s always about whether he brings all that other stuff too, like the bad spelling (Warier) and his enthusiasm for crowd participation. Most fans coveted Ron Ron because of what he could do between the lines, feared him because of what he could do outside the lines and that in a nutshell is about what most Joe sportsfans care about. Win us a championship and sure, you can wear mink coats and have call girls and enough blow to kill a horse. We’ll look the other way. Case in point, Vernon Maxwell is sitting in prison right now in Florida. But I live in Dallas and I listen to the Michael Irving show on ESPN radio sometimes and he’s representative of the other side. That people can change too. Neon Deion, when not hawking hot dog machines, has a similar story. Religious? Sure, but it’s change nonetheless. It came after their careers and maybe for Ron, it’ll come after his as well. Part of life is about reaping what you sow. The other is about doing something with lemons. Some you can control, some you can’t. Everyone deals with it and makes due. <b>CONTENDERS?</b> A lot of Rockets fans are crying team cancer, others are salivating at the chance to draw up fantasy lineups, like me. The ultimate question is whether this helps Houston get that much closer to a championship and I say, absolutely (*$&#(* YES. Crazy? A little. Awesome. Yes. Morey is a stud? For a math guy? YES. If I were a woman would I marry him? I’d seriously consider it. If his GM game is this good, I’m guessing his other game isn’t half as bad. This trade makes sense for both sides. Some will be crying Pau Gasol part 2, but I say not. Sactown knew Ron Ron wouldn’t be signing after his final year. He has openly lamented about not opting out, but as previous articles have mentioned, this was actually his best move. Only a handful of teams can offer anything decent this off-season, Memphis, and recently the 76ers, Warriors and so on. Thus the migration of players back to Europe (another story). This set up a likely trade scenario by February. Of all the people who didn’t get traded last season, he was the number one guy. Ron was going to go somewhere at some point. Could the Kings have gotten more? Perhaps, but they got in expiring contract in Bobby J, a future 1st rounder, and Donte Immalightupthesummerleague Greene, cash, and possibly more players. The jury is out on Greene, he has tremendous upside as a 19 year old forward. But so did another Big East 19 year old that we had in Eddie Griffin (RIP). You just never know how prospects pan out. The Kings will probably have a decent 1st round pick, our late round pick, cap space, and a budding talent in Green. They also got rid of a potentially running migraine of a story in Ron’s contract. They’re building for the future. They were never going to build their franchise around Artest. No other franchise would build their team around Artest, the Rockets included. The Rockets are about now. We all know about Yao and T-mac. This is usually the point where basketball players reach their prime. Jordan in his late 20’s. Hakeem in his late 20’s. Now is the time. Yao, T-mac, and Artest are all in their late 20’s. Championship teams usually (94 Rockets are an exception) consist of a couple of beasts and solid role players. The Celtics exemplified that when James Posey got his fat contract this off-season. Everyone wants a Posey. We get that and more in Artest. He’s Posey on ‘roids. He brings the toughness the Rockets have missed. This team needed a little bit of crazy. Not since Bob Sura ran point have I felt like any other Rockets team has had that fire, until now. At least on paper right now. <b>WHY THIS IS A GOOD THING</b> In the right situation, in the right time, Artest can find his place. Remember when we signed Bonzi? I can’t recall him really acting up. With Battier, Yao, T-mac, and Coach Adelman, I think it can be just the right place for Artest to be at. The attention will always be on Yao and T-mac and not getting out of the first round. The spotlight will become less of an issue for Ron, he’s not the focal point of this team and that bodes well for him. We have a pretty chill team and one of Ron’s favorite coaches, a guy who seems to know how to handle difficult guys. Change can be good. The other big thing I see is that this is a contract year for Tru Warier. Unless his rap game is going to get him millis, then I’m guessing he’s looking for a big contract next year. Ron doesn’t sign mid-level exceptions. This only puts the impetus for him to play hard, play smart, and behave accordingly. Contract year usually equals big time play and that only means good things for the Rockets. Winning is also the best cure for everything that ails you and there’s nothing like being in a winning environment to make you special guy numero uno in town. When teams are winning, everything is good. It may not be 22 straight good, but for the Rockets this year, it’s a certain we’ll be winning more than losing. The Rockets don’t need Ron to be an MVP or the best defensive player in the league, that’s already Shane Who’s Your Daddy Battier, they just need him to be Ron Ron. <b>LINEUPS</b> <b><i>Starting Five:</b></i> 5 Yao 4 Scola 3 Artest 2 T-Mac 1 Skip You have scorers at all places on the floor. Defensively, it’s solid. We were already one of the best defensive teams, it only gets better with Artest. <b><i>Small Lineup</i></b> 5 Scola 4 Artest 3 Battier 2 T-Mac 1 Skip This team could run and would be solid defensively. Take out Scola and put in Dorsey later on and this team would shut down most teams. <b><i>Big Lineup</i></b> 5 Yao 4 Scola 3 Artest 2 T-Mac 1 Bones The smallest guy is 6’7”. <b><i>Shooting Lineup</i></b> 5 Yao 4 Artest 3 Battier 2 Bones 1 T-Mac Stick Brent, Battier, and T-mac outside. After they double Yao, pick your poison. <b>KEYS</b> This could go on for days. We should rename this team Pop-n-Lock. Poppin’ on the offense, locking down on the defense. H-town got streets on lock because the perimeter is locked down and the driving lanes are closed. Defense wins championships. This team is going to be Suntin’ all season. The key to this season will be of course health. But the addition of Brent and Artest give the Rockets several key things, mainly size and hopefully rest for McGrady. If the combination of having Battier and Barry fill in at the 2/3 for T-Mac can help shave off 5-6 minutes a game for Tracy during the season, I think it’s going to be a huge factor come playoff time. <b>FLASHBACK</b> Around 1992-1993, the Rockets had their own talented player who at times had a hot head and would get into fights. Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon was in the final year of his contract and was demanding to be traded, but somehow agreed to stay and play out his contract with then owner, Charlie Thomas. He got an extension and then won a championship a year later. I remember reading an article back then about Hakeem, how he had converted to become a Muslim, how he had found peace in his life apart from basketball, how he added an ‘H’ to Akeem, yet told everyone it’s still pronounced the same way. It was during this time period when Houston almost lost him for good. A player with a lot of potential, a lot of talent, a lot of heart, but at times had issues putting it all together. Just like a wild horse. The situation reminded me of Seabiscuit (I read the book, didn’t see the movie). There are many parallels to be drawn from Artest’s situation. He’s had a questionable past. Mistakes, regrets, so on and so forth. He’s been brilliant on the court at times, a knucklehead during others, but he’s passionate nonetheless. He’s tried to clean up his image with volunteer work, showed some character in choosing not to opt out of his contract and has tried to work on his character. Maybe he should add a silent ‘H’ to his name. Hartest. That would work for me. <b>CONCLUSION</b> Everyone has an Artest in their life. Someone who is brilliant, who is a knucklehead at times, means well, does the other, but in the end, feels like they’re a good person who is doing what they can with what they have. Sometimes we’re that person. Sometimes we’re getting punched in the face by that person. But if it’s someone you care about, you’re going to hope that they change for the better, or can survive to see that change. If it’s someone on your team, you just hope they can help you get out of the first freakin’ round. No excuses this year. I’m calling my shot now. Rockets-Lakers Western Conference Finals Rockets-Celtics Finals
you mean like the playoff ones? this is pretty awesome. cant wait for the end of october/november. when does the schedule come out? it should be sometime around mid august?
I wrote this post, I don't blog (use to, but don't have time anymore), but just do occasional posts on facebook for friends, like this one. I have to be inspired to write. It usually takes a trade like this one. Thanks for the nice words. Go Rox.
Can you believe this, DD? I love this time of year! We've seen the Rocks pull blockbuster trades before. Heck, it's a Rockets tradition, and here we are pulling off another one.
The first thing that came to my mind when I discovered this trade was that one Rockets-Kings game when the Rockets had a comfortable lead in the 4th quarter and Ron Artest single-handedly brought his team back (the game Novak hit the game winning 3). Artest almost prevented us from having what would have eventually became that 22 game winning streak. Now he's on our side. Unreal. I wonder around Aug 14 or whenever if the media is going to take pictures of Artest alongside Yao and T-Mac at the press conference holding up their jerseys like Boston's big 3 did last year. EPIC
