LOL.. thats fantasy land. why woud mikki moore who will stay in new jersey come to a team that he would be getting less minutes and money?... 2:THERE IS NOWAY SEATTLE WOULD WAN ANY PART OF ALSTON 3 THERE IS NOWAY that you can start Artest at the 4 spot and win a title. 3 or the 2 spot sure.
BTW this would put team salaries at ~70M so we would be in luxury tax land by about 1.75M. Les always said he would pay for the right player (or in this case players). We would have expirings at ~12M, but with salaries ramping up, we might remain in the tax for a few years...
ron ron is a nice teammate. loyalty should be valued here. yes he has off court problem and seemed to be one of the rebellious type. But he worked out well while playing under Adelman so this should be fine. With the amount of risk this deal is superb. I mean I we're giving up 3 players who weren't even in the rotation in last year's playoffs and only a very late first round pick who weren't going to pan out anyways. Very nice. I really doubt the heat will be unable to put together a better package though. But besides the heat, I really don't see anyone willing to take on artest. Maybe some semi-contending team in the east would also be willing. But we really have a decent shot guys. If we switched spanoulis with head in the package then we're definitely providing more than the heat.
1. Mikki Moore is not going to get more than the MLE (or at least he shouldn't). If not him, then some other athletic PF. 2. They are not too happy with their other PG options either. Ridnour was riding the pine a lot of the year. They were using Mike Wilks. Mike Wilks! They might try to move Ridnour because he needs a change of scenery. Also, Alston's contract is for less money than Ridnour's. 3. In nearly any other circumstance you would be right. However, look at our rebounding from every other position besides PF. Maybe we start Francis at PG. Francis, TMac, Lewis, and Yao are all above average rebounders at their positions. Artest is also very strong and outweighs many PFs (even in the west). I bet he would get a lot of steals fronting PFs with his quick hands. If we are getting beat up by a big PF, put in one of our more conventional options (Moore or Hayes).
I understand that Artest is not the ideal 4...but why would he not work? If he played at a position that puts him in the position to get more rebounds I am sure he is capable of 8-9, which is not bad considering Hayes would come off the bench. Artest is a more capable rebounder and defender at the 4 than Howard. I believe Artest is that versatile. Plus he moves the big fours out on offense giving Yao room to operate. He can drive on the fours and he has a decent shot all the way to the 3 ball line if they cheat off of him. They can't stray towards Yao like they did with Chuck. I like the range he provides on offense and the versatility he provides on defense. You could have him guard Boozer then when Hayes comes in Artest could guard Harpring. That's the versatility he provides. -V
What we need is a strong rebounder to go to the next level. You saw those rebounds fly over Yao's head into a Jazz hands late in game 7. We need a true 4.
For what it's worth, http://www.82games.com/0607/06SAC8C.HTM Artest spent a decent chunk of time at the 4 this year, and rebounded pretty well. 9.0 rebounds per 48 minutes, while the opposing 4 man got 9.6 rebounds. He was no Chuck Hayes on the boards, but he was decent enough and held his own in the rebounding department. Also, it seems that Adelman is looking for a SF/PF combo. So, My guess is Ron is projected as at least a part-time 4.
I just cant see how Artest can matchup with the likes of Duncan , Amare and co. over a 7 game series against the duncans of this world, it could get ugly. Artest strength is that he can out muscle most of the players at he's position. with the likes of duncan, he is fighting out of he's wheight division. ... BTW, if we do snatch Artest for this outragesly low price, i would try to move battier for big like Haslem or a gooden. PG:James for howard SG:Mac SF:Artest PF:Haslem or drew gooden C:Yao. Keep bonzi and try to sign francis for the vet minimum.
What do you mean out of his weight class? http://www.nba.com/playerfile/ron_artest/ Artest weighs 260 lbs.
He's listed as 6'7" and 260 lbs. That's clearly closer to a 4 than Lewis. Rebounding is a wash. Artest is far and away the better defender, of course, one of the league's best, has twice the steals, and is a better passer, with more assists. Lewis is the better shooter, no surprise, but Artest isn't too shabby himself. They are about the same age, which some might find surprising. Artest has missed a lot of games during his career, even putting aside the lost 04-05 season. Has he had a lot of injuries? Maybe someone could clue us in on that. (or else I missed the posts) Considering his age, Artest has less wear and tear simply from playing games than one might expect. So why the missed games? Is he injury prone? Just some thoughts.
Who can realistically play the 4 for us and give us what Artest does...a guy like Haslem or Moore (taller slightly offensively better Hayes) give us a few more rebounds...maybe...but Artest can shut guys down...He can guard Amare and Marion in the same game...Hayes is a strong rebounder...he worked well with Yao...but ppl cheat off of him to stop Yao...Artest can bring them out like a 3 but stop them like a 4...he is bigger, stronger, and taller than Hayes...if his job was to get more rebounds I am sure he can do it...by comparison...Haslem is about the same age (27) and is considered on this board a legitimate rebounding 4....his job was to get rebounds...Shaq was rebounding at the same clip Yao was so it wasn't like Haslem wasn't getting the far share he would pressumably get here....he rebounds 1.5 less but also played 10 minutes less... so we assume that Haslem will rebound about 3-4 more boards a game with 10 more minutes of play time??? And Artest couldn't get 1.5 more boards by concentrating on boarding more and being in the paint more??? Also consider the fact that we don't want to have big 4's bully us...why would a Haslem be such a better defender than Artest...please answer me that...Artest has always been a premiere defender...he can guard 2-4 and maybe even point...he is faster and quicker than Haslem...so why is Haslem the ideal 4 and Artest isn't???
What are you talking about...why is Haslem better at the 4 than Artest...Artest equals 6'8 260...Haslem is 6'8 235...WTH are you talking about...if Artest is out of his wiegth division...what do you consider Haslem?
He's 6"7. duncan 7 foot. thats the main difference.duncan will just shoot over him all night long.look i could see Artest being a successfull 4 for a large part of the season, but if and when we run into the spurs, duncan will have a dayout on him. Artest is a true 3 player. not a 4 player. it's that simple.
And they couldn't do it to Hayes? They couldn't do that to Haslem...Amare has posterized lots of ppl...Duncan shoots over Garnett and ...we are not getting Brand anytime soon...Artest is the best guy to play the 4 for us...with all that he can do and mismatches he can provide...when we played Spurs this year we had Yao on Duncan and that worked fine...you can't stop a guy like Duncan completely...it's a team game...Artest adds a lot to this team. -V
artest is a perimeter defender. He can not and will not be a consistent banger against Dirk , Amare or even Boozer. What big man has Artest stopped in his lifetime?
Duncan would shoot over Haslem too...what's your point...do you have a Dream cloning machine to get us the a young Dream to play the 4...cuz if you do that would be awesome...honestly though...who do you realistically want that could stop Duncan?
Calm down.jesuse. getting all worked for nothing.i never said i dont want him here.I just think Artest is a natural 3 player. besides he wont be a 4 here anyway. were not gonna get both lewis and artest at the same time. thats fantasy land stuff. It'll probaly be like PG: James or Alston SG:MAC SF:Artest PF:Someo for battier or hayes C:Yao
