[Bill Simmons] "Almost Famous" NBA offseason Part 1

People like Ariza doesnt have another level. He is trying his hardest the entire season, trying to get a bigger contract. He just happen to play well during the playoff. Saying he is a better shooter than Artest at the 3s is crazy. Artest is force to take over our offense at time because we lack offense and have a young pg. I honestly think Brooks should have the balls to take over more cause he was a better option than Artest. Kobe refuse to pass most of the time...lol And comparing Farmar and Luke to Artest?

 

he took his defense to another level? some of his clutchest plays were on D bro.

he made his 3pt shots at a high clip. and he played within his role. i agree with people here who say he's not an all-star player, b/c he's NOT. never will be. but he's a perfect first line role player.

i never said he was better than ron artest. i said FOR HIS ROLE on the lakers, artest will not duplicate it. what ariza did for the lakers was perfect. he never tried to take shots away and just focus on spreading the floor, use his athleticism, knock down shots, and play D. if ron can do the same things, he CAN BE BETTER than ariza in that role.

but knowing ron and his tendencies, how he likes to dribble and take shots that have zero chance of going in, what do you think? i brought up farmar and walton in their tendencies to "over-dribble" and how kobe reacts to that.

 

JVG LOVER why do you always attach yourself to a player or coach and become blind to their faults?

You must have not watched the Lakers series. Artest was a no show in the end. When it counted most Artest kept forcing his game and not delivering. He was pathetic. Yeah we probably would have lost game 7 anyway. But if Artest would have played better or at least realized he was off and passed more than things might have worked out better. That is legitimate criticism.

I was a Artest fan to a degree. I always thought he was a bit nuts but I also thought he brought a toughness that the team needed. But in the end Scola and Battier brought a much more real toughness that was lacking in Artest and they did it without being wacko. With this behind the scenes info, swapping Artest for Ariza becomes a no brainer IMO.

 

Yea, I agree Ariza made some big steals in the Denver series, eventhrough Carter throw it right at him, twice...lol I totally agree with you that he is not going to be an allstar type player. But some people on this board think Ariza will somehow turn into Tmac just because he is wearing number 1.

Artest was never given the chance to play those kinda roles. As a star player his entire life, he was ask to take shots. He will have to adjust his game to fit those role. And in some playoff game this year, Artest didnt really force the issues and took a lot of shots too for us. When we were winning and doing well. I think he will play his role at time, and plus Kobe is going to need more rest now that his age is getting up there. Artest give them a player they can play and maybe get some shots from when the rest of the starting line up is resting. Ariza couldnt provide that type of offense for Kobe to get rest. It really show in the Jazz series when they lost big lead cause Kobe was sitting down.

I just want the board to give Ron some respect for what he did do for our team, and not kick him out of the door just because he wanted a chance to win a ring.

 

ron did contribute to the team. i just don't think there's a fit with the lakers and we'll see next season. ron's not going to get any better. but you're right, people are also misinformed to think that ariza is going to be a "stud" all of a sudden. he's a top flight role player at best.

 

nevermind... edit

 

Yea, I know is hard to see a player playing a role of a role player when he has been trying to be a superstar when he is clearly not. Taking shots like a superstar, but I think Brooks didnt have the balls to keep him in check, but Kobe might be able to do it. This is a true test of Kobe's leadership skill.

 

I've liked Artest as a player for quite some time now, and after the brawl when he was being shopped, I remember arguing for him to be brought to Houston if the cost was low. Seeing him play a lot this season though has cooled my interest in him as a player a lot, mainly because he isn't the player he used to be, but I was absolutely fine with the perceived craziness or chemistry problems as long as it didn't affect on court performance. This story though really changes my opinion. Never mind the underwear, if he can't show up on time for the bus for a game 7...

 

There is a CP3 trade rumor on ESPN insider. Can anybody who is an insider post the rumor?

 

forgot to add, I thought Ron brought a toughness, which was the difference between us losing 4-1 to the lakers instead of 4-3. But you're right OMR, the real toughness was brought by Battier and Scola.

 

we already have someone get shot... let's not repeat that for god sakes...

 

While I don't recall CH being a "JVG lover," or someone blind to a player's faults (that would be DD, lol! ), I certainly agree with the rest of your post. As B-Bob pointed out so well, Ron pulled this bizarre crap literally just before the biggest Rockets game in many, many years, and while Artest's antics are funny at first blush, we should all, in fact, be pissed off about it. Just as Wafer becoming a 13 year old in the middle of a playoff series, Artest running around in his underwear, grabbing the last bus to the game, and doing it before Les and the brass is beyond unacceptable.

What a clown. We didn't need the distraction and, who knows? It might have made a difference to the outcome.

 

Another interesting topic to come out of this is: If Buss and Kupchak knew about this game 7 story, would they have been so quick to give up on Ariza negotiations and sign Ron? The Rockets' ability to keep a lid on the Ron stories might have been difference between signing Ariza and signing neither Ron (assuming Les had no more interest in resigning him) nor Ariza.

 

I am fully aware of Artest's faults. Yes, Artest's shooting was horrible at the end, but the fact remains that the Rockets likely don't get to that point without Artest's contribution. Having a bad shooting playoff series, when facing the top team in the league and without Yao for the most part, doesn't negate the remainder of the season.

His problem with the Lakers series is the same as his problem all season: the tendency to randomly go 1-on-1 when the rest the team was not properly spaced. This is the most apparent when he goes to the basket, often with the lane still clogged with big guys from both teams, and it results in him being among "America's Most Rejected" when he attempts layups. (He also takes random jumpshots, which hurts the Rockets when he's cold, but he's hot often enough so it's not as bad as those random drives.)

He played well enough, overall, to be a positive for the season. Despite his problems, he shot the 3 pretty well, defended hard, and

 

No question about it. Had that story gotten out, as others have pointed out, the impact would have been brutal. That a lid was kept on it is nothing short of amazing.

 

Not to be presumptuous, but I get the feeling you're just trying to be overtly contrarian with this.

No one here is claiming his acts were 'criminal' or that he wasn't a good person. In fact, most people are just viewing the underwear anecdote humorously. From what I can tell, no one here has assigned culpability to Ron in 'preventing the Rockets from winning' - this isn't some retroactive witch hunt.

We are discussing the prudence in the decision to release him in light of these new revelations. While these distractions are certainly palatable in the short term for a team with championship aspirations, they probably aren't something you are willing to tolerate as an organization over a long term rebuilding effort when the player's actual on court contributions don't make enough of an overall difference to justify the nuisance.

 

Not that I count for much in this (or any other) forum, but (a) I think I split off on viewing that humorously. The behavior is not a good sign for the guy's mental state, and to be goofing like that in the hours before Game 7, which I still say was our most important game in ten years, is not excusable.
And then (b) I agree on the culpability front. though I'm steamed about the behavior, I don't think he cost us game 7. Didn't help much, but it was a very collective and nicely shared horror.

 

1. I am definitely a JVG lover. However, I don't see how that make me blind to Artest's faults.

2. As others have pointed out, I think Artest's bizzard shot selection is more upsetting than his bizzare wardrobe and bus selection.

3. The fact is, though, these problems are the reason why the Rockets were able to acquire him relatively cheaply-- and why he is now signed to only an MLE contract by the Lakers. If he actually shows up to busses early and fully dressed, and rarely breaks plays, I am guessing he would still be with the team that drafted him (Bulls) and getting paid a lot more than he does now.

4. I am not upset he's gone. Like Simmons said, if Morey had to choose between Ariza and Artest (and he might well have to, given the limited amount of $ he had to spend), Ariza is the guy under the circumstances.

However, for the right team, which may be what the Rockets would be if Yao was not out next year, and the right amount of money, Artest can be a useful piece.

 

1. - Nothing wrong with being a JVG fan, and I still give him credit for our outstanding defense. Having said that, I much prefer Coach Adelman. I couldn't see how your feelings for JVG had anything to do with Ron's antics and couldn't recall your ardent feelings for Jeff. (this forum has gotten too big for me to keep as good a track of some of this stuff as I should, I guess)

3. - Agree that he was a steal at the price and was willing to put up with his nutty behavior, which was really toned done last season, IMO. What I can't forgive is pulling a stunt like that just before game 7 in the second round against the Lakers. You might say that my ability to put up with Ron's more bizarre behavior has limits, and that limit was reached after I read this story, which I believe to be true.

 

Artest is known to mess up some chemistry so there it is. I already knew they were trying to hide it when Clutch said he was doing some bad things in the locker room.