just bringing him off the bench would be the biggest help, imo. the starting unit is pretty effective, but the rockets have nothing consistent or any true threat (other than luther) on the bench. when tmac or yao sit for a breather, then the rockets are still able to have a viable 20+ppg guy out there
Adelman has been quoted as saying he is looking for more of the players in the 3/4 mold rather than the 4/5 mold, which certainly fits the bill for artest. a bunch of long, quick defenders around yao is a good thing in my opinion, esp. for the long haul of the season. but doesn't really do much in solving the problem of having to guard the boozers and duncans in the postseason (if there is even an answer for those problems) but for the package reported, how can you not agree to this? a low risk, short-term contract for an expiring, two rookie contracts and a late first rounder. sign on the dotted line Mr Morey.
On the 610 morning show this am- the announcer - (Lance is gone- the program has not suffered) interviewed Richard Justice - who gave the opinion that Bonzi would be coming back. He supported getting Ron Artest for toughness. It is intriguing and I would support it. Artest contract has value even if he goes haywire mental-tradeable asset as it expires after next season.....
Wow people take everything so literally. 1) Ron Artest is not a bench player and neither is Manu Ginobili but that is the kind of sacrifice to make to be on a winning. Look all I said is that you bring him from the bench at the START of the season. A headcase like him should EARN his spot before handing him over the keys. 2) Switch T-Mac over to SG and Lewis at SF. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? 3) Have you ever watched Jamaal Magloire play? He is a legit 6-10 260 Lbs with great athleticism and good post defense and rebounding ability. He is an upgrade at PF over a 6-7 Chuck Hayes. Why do you just assume that he can't play PF? You say that he is slow but he is superfast compared to Yao. Also you mention guys like Millsap who is a defense only player. Varejao again defense and charging aka flopping but no post up game. Mikke Moore who got his career saved playing next to Kidd. These guys are gonna get overpaid in the summer because they are one-dimensional players. Yet when a I suggest a decent all around post player you have a hard time grasping the idea. Look I understand you have your own opinion on what type of PF compliment's Yao and that is okay with me. However I believe with need a guy like Magloire a big body to play against Duncan and Boozer in the playoffs so that Yao is not stuck guarding someone way faster than him. Also Magloire is very under the radar right now and could be gotten for a cheap price and that is why I really like. Anyway that is just my opinion so take it however you want.
I don't really see much evidence of Artest having played a lot of PF in his career or doing a particularly great job of it. Looks like he played about 27% of his minutes at PF last year. Going on this year, stats of oppossing teams PF's Ron Artest vs. Dirk Nowitzki April 3: DNP Jan 27: 32 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-18 shooting (Artest 27 minutes) Dec 18: 29 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 12-17 shooting (Artest 27 minutes) Dec 1: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-10 shooting (Artest off the bench, 26 minutes) Looks like Dirk did okay Ron Artest vs. Shawn Marion March 25: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assit, 8-15 shooting (Artest 45 minutes) March 22: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 5-7 shooting (Artest DNP) Dec 16: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 5-8 shooting (Artest 33 minutes) Dec 5: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 11-16 shooting (Artest DNP) Not enough evidence. Kings did a good job overall on Marion. Had both his worst and best statistical game with Artest out. Ron Artest vs. Pau Gasol April 10: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4-9 shooting (Artest 38 minutes) Jan 29: 34 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 14-17 shooting (Artest 38 minutes) Not a lot of evidence, but looks like normal stat lines for Pau Ron Artest vs. Zach Randolp March 3: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 10-20 shooting (Artest 38 minutes) Jan 12: 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 9-21 shooting (Artest 31 minutes) Jan 6: 32 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 10-23 shooting (Artest 45 minutes) Nov 25: 24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 10-16 shooting (Artest 21 minutes, off bench) Looks like Zach did okay Again, who knows who the Kings had guarding whom. Ron played some minutes, but not a whole lot at PF, so you could argue you wasn't guarding these guys most of the time, but was occasionally. In either case, it's not like he really clamped down on those more-guard like forwards. Though it is certainly logical that a more traditional PF's (ala a Randolph) would perform better against him. Whatever the case, I don't think Rick Adelman means Phoenix Suns or GS Warriors...he's said as much himself. And it's not like Shareef Abdur Rahim is a great PF these days that you absolutely must have on the court. So I see no reason why Ron would get significant minutes at PF for our team if Rick didn't gie him significant minutes at PF for the Kings 2 years ago. 2 years ago, in his time with the Kings, Artest played less than 3% of his minutes at PF Despite being the most undersized of the group, out of SAR, Kenny Thomas, Artest, Hayes, Howard....Chucky is probably the best PF defender of the group. sure, to the extent that what he gives you on offensive more than makes up for what he might lack on defense at the PF position due to his size constraints, and that if you have a lineup that include Shane, T-Mac and Artest, it's probably better having them all out there then one coming off the bench. but, if you can get Artest for nothing, I think the teams performance and versatility would be best improved by trading Shane + filler for a Rashard if you can get him, or Zach Randolp + filler if you can get him. Do I think either Rashard or Randolp are significant defensive improvements at the PF over Artest? Not really. But it lets Artest slide back to guarding SF's/SG's where he has a much bigger defensive impact, imo, while still giving you a very athletic PF who can play an up-tempo game, and, in Rashard's case, play on the outside and slide over to SF at times, too. I'd prefer T-Mac, Artest, Rashard/Randolp to T-Mac, Shane, Artest...of course, it's doubtful you could get either of those 2... I'm not against getting Artest, or having him play the 4 if that's the case. But I think people are kidding themselves if they expect some of the better PFs of the league to stop getting theirs if all of a sudden Ron Artest is guarding them. We become a much more versatile offensive team and a much deeper team overall, though.
I think you are overrating Magloire a bit in your mind. His career has been on a pretty consistant decline over the past 3 years, and I don't think I would ever consider Magloire "athletic" even when he wasn't mailing in games. While he might be a decent option behind Yao coming off the bench, he is not a complimentary player by any means (i.e. slow lateral quickness, bad shotblocker, not face-up game)... The guy hasn't shown up since after his all-star season when he got paid...and I don't think the likes of a LLE is really going to motivate someone with that kind've mentality. These are the types of players any team with championship asperations looks to avoid.
yeah, the magloire love is a little over the top. A few years ago, such enthusiam could be warranted but recently he just hasnt been what he could be.
Hey Clutch, Instead of photoshopping Artest into a rockets Jersey for his profile...you should photoshop V-Span into a Kings jersey... your jersey swapping skills are incredible by the way...
Artest is a nutcase, but he is a really, really good basketball player. Reminds me of a Rodman with a jumper. Plus, he can "D" up just about anybody, or make them at least wish they had someone else on them. If the Rockets keep Bonzi we would be on our way to going from the "All Nice Guy" team to the "All Fruitcake" Team. After last playoffs performance, I was thinking of all pink uniforms. If Artest comes, how about pink and black?
San Antonio used the strategy of letting Boozer have his, but shut down the rest of the team, which worked okay save for Deron Williams. Yao was way too slow to take on Boozer, and Hayes was too short. Artest can at least put a body on him, and make him work on the other end of the floor. I think getting him for our 8th and 12th men + a low first rounder would be a steal in terms of risk/reward.
Yea, if Bonzi stays and the rockets aquire Artest, this team would be the complete opposite of soft. Add in a descent PG ie. Mike James and a long athletic PF and it would be carnage.
No doubt. My only point is that Hayes is probably a better post defender than Artest...if that's the only thing you are focusing on.
And by carnage, you mean players punching other players and fans. Adelman poking his eyes out. And Les Alexander killing Daryl Morey.
Dude just stop I really could care less if you think Mac is a Sf that is up for debate, but Magloire is not athletic. He plays slow! He and Yao up there and we would suck in mobility. Plus the key thing Artest was unhappy as the second scorer in sac-to. He is not coming off the bench so forget it, if you think he is you know nothing about the situation. Artest wants to be a key guy he is not a bench player plus what the hell are you even talking about Magloire for he has not even been in rumors. I am so tired up people like you wasting our time with your black hole of knowledge.
I'd be willing to give Artest a shot at PF. At 6'7", 260 lbs there's not many players that are going to push him around. He's one of the strongest, most intense and physical players in the league. He doesn't back down from anybody. He's a very competant post player and knows how to score around the basket. He's a bulldog, he could be our "enforcer" and has the potential to push us over the hump.
Thank you finally someone who has some knowledge. Plus Ghettocheeze this is a Ron Ron thread who cares about your bogus offseason moves. I will bet my membership and a 1000 dollars right now we will not get 2 of your 3 moves.
