No more than MLE money: take it or leave it Ron Ron! I like the guy, but no way in hell he should be given 1) a long term contract beyond 3 years OR 2) the $10 million per or whatever he thinks he is worth. The guy no longer is a lock down defender on the perimeter, partly because he is much slower and much heavier than his Indiana days, so his lateral movement is slow and guys like Roy can blow by him on regular basis. He is also worse than poison on the offensive end, I have never seen a guy be so bad with the ball in his hands: can't pass and can't create a shot for himself. If you want a much better version than Artest for about the same money he wants, go explore Shawn Marion, a guy who would make the Rockets a much better team with Yao at the helm. Unlike Artest, Marion is an athletic freak who can shoot three just as well and rebound the heck out of the ball, which is much needed to cover up for Yao's slowness at times.
If Artest won't accept reasonable dollars, then sign-and-trade him for a quality player in the final year of his contract. That gives us a ridiculous amount of flexibility next summer, ranging from re-signing T-Mac + player if we have a championship contending team, to dumping T-Mac + player and having enough cap room to make a run at D-Wade.
That is EXACTLY what the Rox need to do, because I guaran-freakin-tee it that NO SANE TEAM IN THE LEAGUE will offer Ron the $8 mil he covets. Rockets need to wait it out and stand firm on an MLE offer, nothing more! 3 years at MLE is not bad money, Ron. Don't Bonzi Wells it!
I honestly don't think Artest is worth 4 year 37 million.. UNLESS he shows he's willing to work on his offense and transform it into a team-first type deal.. his dribbling around and jack-ups really hurt our team.. I don't see why we should pay a premium for a player that does this. If Artest KNEW he was a role player though, I would pay 4-year 30 million to accept a lesser role.. Sounds crazy, but I'd like Artest to know he's not the main ball-handler before signing him.
4 years for 37 million are bit of high, but if we can add a team option into the last year, the deal may be ok.
Artest is crazy stupid, I don't see him winning a championship without a leader on his team, he needs someone above him. I like the guy he is awesome, but realistically guys like him are content with working hard and winning games and sticking to the routine, making a rap video here and there. But I don't see him as a player who can provide that hunger for a Championship, dont get me wrong he may want to win, but it isn't as much as a Kobe - Lebron - Chauncey - Tmac - Wade.
Signing Artest will be hugely dependent on the Rox decision on Yao. If they intend to keep Yao (which means MAX dollars) then it's safer to keep Artest. Artest needs a dominant low-post player on the block because he is SO MUCH better at being a stand-still shooter than someone taking the shot off the dribble. Case in point, compare Artest's stats/efficiency before and after Yao got hurt in the Lakers series.
It's Artest OR Battier, in my opinion. We need a legit SG in the starting lineup. Neither of them are SGs and both of them are too good and too well payed to be backups. I'd lean towards Artest because he is more of a two-way player and Adelman likes having 5 capable scorers in the lineup. Get a real SG in the lineup and Artest won't have to take on so much responsibility offensively.
I thought I read in the Chronicle that we have his Bird rights, as such we can go above the salary cap to sign him without hurting our flexibility in the future. If that's correct, give the man what he wants - he's earned it. There's no way we would've pushed the Lakers to 7 or even gotten out of the first round without Ron.
It is not and/or, that is a false choice. McGrady is expiring and is not part of our future, Artest is signing a new contract and will be THE guy helping Yao through his last good years here as a Rocket. He needs to shed some serious weight is he wants to get his quickness back. I never though I would say this, but the guy may need to actually do less weight lifting and a lot more other stuff that will make him leaner and lighter on his feet. Right now he is a power forward trying to play like a swingman, the problem is his name is NOT Lebron James.
Holy ****, some of you are acting like ur playing nba 2k9. Wake up people, that pile of garbage Corey Maggette could get 9m last year, what makes you think Artest is worth any less than that. It would be nice for the team if we could sign all of our good players to the MLE, but its a two way street.
Nice post. The part I bolded caught my eye though cause it's absolutely true. This Rockets team and BBS always wanted a leader and we FINALLY have one and his name is Ron Artest. You guys ever notice when the team is on the court after a foul it's always Artest that gathers the guys in a huddle and he's leading/guiding his teammates on what needs to be done. I have zero doubt that the reason why we advanced so deep in the playoffs is because of RON ARTEST. There's more ways to lead than just shooting at a high fg% and scoring lots of points. Guys, the important thing to remember with Artest is that he's NOT a Number 1 option. He wasn't that in Chicago, he was not that in Indiana or Sacramento and he sure as hell wasn't brought here to be the number 1 option or 2 for that matter. He was brought in to be the THIRD option behind Yao and Mcgrady. Simply put Artest is not good as a number 1 option and he was EXPOSED hence the Lakers series but he's great as a second or third option and his leadership is invaluable. Ron Artest single handedly gave this team an IDENTITY. I remember in the halftime of game 2 when the TNT crew was talking about the Rockets as serious contenders. Kenny said something very important that went along the lines of this.... the Rockets surrounded Yao with a group of PITBULLS and that's what they needed cause Yao at times plays soft. Who do you guys think the leader of that pack was? The leader that instilled guts, fearlessness, grit, toughness, tenacity, resilience and tru warier mentality? Make no mistake, Artest is a MUST SIGN.
