I thought Kobe was the guy that lead the league in technicals last year and not Artest. Not to mention the almost single hanedly outscored the Rockets in the 2nd half of a game against the Kings last year we won with a buzzer beating shot after blowing a 20 point lead. He's a way better scorer than Battier and a better defender. We've gotta upgrade our players somewhere and we know 2 of them can't be. Then again nobody wants any of our starters replaced and we're 0-7 in the last 1st rounds. We've got too many PG's already and it looks like the PF spot is finally solved by splitting 2 people. That only leaves the PG position and it has to be someone who can score and dish out dimes if we won't touch any other spot to improve. Tell me who's on the market out there we have a chance of getting better than Artest? Adleman and aveteran team will handle any supossed problems.
Looks like Ron-Ron might be having second thoughts. http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/ Of course there's another entry now that says his agent talked to him afterwards, and it's still up in the air.
what's all the fuss abt with artest at lakers? kobe is a very unselfish player who does anything for the team to win and is a true leader, it will work out well
Are you serious? Do you really think Artest is gonna be allowed to pull ANYTHING with Phil (who had Rodman with the Bulls) and Kobe (who's just as strong-willed as Jordan) watching over him like a hawk? Hell no....if anything, I see Artest becoming a BEAST on that team, and giving them the inside ferociousness they lacked this year with Gasol. If they end up getting him, I am going to throw up, because that means they will be championship favorites for at least the next 5 years.
There differences though. 1) kobe isnt as strong willed as Jordan, probably the guy who has the strongest will since Jordan but not like Jordan. Also Jordan had established himself as the best player in the game who had led his team to 3 rings at the time. He was a proven winner and leader. Kobe has led his team to the finals this year but before this year it was 2 first round exits and missing the playoffs when he was called upon to be the main guy. Also even though everyone says kobe is a great teammate body language on the court is completely different it seems like his teammates are annoyed by him. Jordan was feared by teammates too but when they got on the court you can tell they were willing to go the distance for him. Also Jordan trusted teammates like Paxson and Kerr to hit clutch shots for his teams when it mattered since that was the best option available. I havent seen (though I could be wrong) a situation where kobe passed the ball in the waning seconds to a teammate for a shot to seal/win a game. 2)Pippin, I hate the guy but there is no denying his ability and his leadership on that bulls team as well. He was tough and brought it every night. Kobe can only dream of having a guy like Pippin on his team. Pippin would help keep people focused and in line as well. 3)You are seriously under appreciating/valuing Rodman here. Yeah he did some really strange things off the court and on the court with his hair and all but there was no question with his desire and hustle and bball iq. Rodman was one of the craftiest defenders I have ever seen in my life. He played his role to perfection and gave it his all every single night. I think at times Rodman was singled out unfairly by the league because of his over the top style and all. But as a player I dont think there were mainly coaches who would pass up Rodman. Artest is no Rodman. Artest has always been wanting to be the man on the team, the guy went into the stands and starting a brawl with the fans. He considered leaving basketball to pursue a rap career in the prime of his career. Artest could be more talented than Rodman one can argue but when it comes to bball iq and desire/hustle Rodman wins by a landslide. Heck even when Rodman was in his 40s he was still trying to play in various leagues to play ball. Jordan and Phil had to deal with Rodman and his off court issues but I dont think they ever had to worry about him on the court and what he would bring each and every night. The lakers are totally different. Kobe has his own off court issues that are attacked by the media (rather than kept hush hush like with Jordan), Phil has his own (jeanie buss?), artest would just bring a slew of more off court circus fare to that team. All the while wanting to be a primary option on that team. Everywhere he has played he has been at worst the second option. in LA kobe isnt going to take a back seat to anyone. Gasol will for sure but I dont think phil will allow gasol to take a smaller role in the offense since he runs it so well. And dont forget bynum who was pretty vocal about wanting a certain amount of touches as well in the post. History is good indicator of the future, Artest would go ballistic on that lakers team with his attitude.
TheYoYo and A3_PO are right. -Kobe is no Jordan in terms of leadership. -Artest is no Rodman in terms of being a team player on the court. -The Bulls team was a vet team with winning experience and confidence, the Lakers are young and unsure. -Phil Jackson may or may not have the cred he used to. Ever since Kobe has taken over of leader of the Lakers they have been a fragile psychological bunch (e.g., post 3-1 lead versus a totally depleted Suns squad). Even assembling lots of talent hasn't solved that (witness game 6). The comparisons to the Bulls/Rodman situation to this one is extremely superficial. If I were the Lakers I wouldn't touch Ron-Ron. They need a stable and dependable role playing SF who can defend and shoot the 3. Trade for a Battier type swingman (trade bait among Arizra, Walton, Turiaf, Sasha, maybe even Odom for the right guy), look to upgrade or depth at PG with the MLE, wait for Bynum's return, that is what I would do if I were them.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=2008freeagents Does the above mean, if he opts out, the Kings can't do a S&T? At least not one that Artest will agree to, ie only for the MLE. The Kings are also over the cap. So if the try to re-sign him it can't be for more than the MLE? Petrie has 5 days including today to either sweat it out or move him to another team if they want to get at least something back. Artest would have to agree not to opt out, agree to go to that team, and possibly an extension for any deal Petrie proposes. So the Kings might not be able to ask for much in return?
I also agree. Why would a team that has a capable role playing SF (Battier, Prince type) be interested in some package of Arriza, Walton, Turiaf, Sasha, Odom or Vlad? Prince seems to be available and Odom would provide a Salary Dump for Detroit, but doesn't appear to be what Dumars is looking for. Turiaf, Arriza, Walton and Vlad will be losing minutes when Bynum comes back. Sasha is OK, but isn't what Detroit is looking for. If you were Morey and the Lakers inquired about Battier, what would you deem as an attractive offer? Marion is expensive and Riley will be tough to deal with. Other than those already mentioned, I can't think of other players that fit the role playing profile. Then we delve off into swing players that would be available: It would be interesting to see Josh Howard playing next to Kobe, but what would be a package that would grab the Maverick's attention? Miller was just traded. Other Western Conference teams would (should?) be reluctant to deal with the Lakers unless they clearly get the upperhand on the deal.
Kings as they are now: Douby, (Singletary/2nd draft), *** Martin, Salmons, *** Garcia, KT, (Ewing/2nd draft) (Thompson/1st draft), Moore, SAR Miller, Hawes, *** Udrih, restricted FA Artest, unrestricted FA if he opts out Jackson + Brooks/Head + 2009 second round pick from Memphis for Artest? http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-now-singletaryearly.0627,0,7652937.story Jackson shores up their PG/SG depth. Brooks is a more favored prospect than Douby or Singletary. Head, the league values shooters. Kings are over the cap so have only the MLE to look for another PG. This Makes Udrih a likely re-signing.
Throw in our 1st round or Memphis' 2nd round pick so the Kings can draft someone extra or have the fantasy of trading up and i think we can get something done. We have alot more than LA to offer. Like i said before, If Artest is gonna go i see no reason why they would want to give him to the Lakers. That's like us trading a final piece to the championship to the Spurs or Mavs.
I thought that the Kings weren't fond of Rick A and would be reluctant to deal with the Rockets. Artest going to the Mavericks or Eastern Conference is my guess.
Start with Jackson and Brooks and go as high as Battier and Brooks. Artest>>Battier. Brooks is replaceable. Sacramento loses the trade as far as talent but if I'm Sacramento and Artest says he's not staying, I'd rather have Battier than nothing. A deal centering Bobby Jackson is just wishful thinking on our part.
That will probably consist of a handful of teams offering the exact same full MLE over however many years. None of the teams with cap space covet Artest.
Artest going to the Mavericks or Eastern Conference is my guess.[/QUOTE] Petrie is too cagy to trade him to a WC team, look at his history, Webber to the 76ers, Bibby to the Hawks. The sign and trade for Artest will have to bring value back to the Kings, unloading Mike Bibby and his overbloated contract for a bunch of scrubs is one thing but giving away a high value guy/reasonable contract for scrubs is another. If I were the Kings I would be looking to trade Artest for a Josh Howard type of player.
But will the other team be willing to give up a Josh Howard type player for Artest? I can't imagine Cuban doing that. My sense is that while there will be competition to Artest, other teams are not going to be offering an actual star player in a S&T of Artest. I don't think teams typically get a lot out of S&Ts, just look back at the history of such deals... do you recall anyone trading an established star player in a S&T? Pistons got Ben Wallace for G. Hill, but that's before Wallace became well-known. In a S&T situation, the selling team doesn't have a whole lot of leverage. The player can threaten to simply leave the team with nothing by (1) signing with an under the cap team, or (2) signing for the MLE. While Artest may not choose to do this as his preferred options (under the cap teams are not contenders-- and may not want Artest--, and he certainly wants more than the MLE), the fact that he has the ability to leave them with nothing generally reduces the team's leaverage. My guess is Kings end up with either (1) trade exception or expiring contracts, plus (2) a collection of picks or not quite established young players. S&T rights are distressed assets, you don't pay full price for them.
