Yeah, Dick Justice...the local NBA authority and Rockets insider He needs to stick to calling for Drayton to be fired on odd days and praising him on even days
I'm torn on signing Artest. Some games he really helped us, then others I would scream at him through the TV because once he touched the ball it completely stopped moving. I think the main problem is that he thinks he is better than he really is. If he could stop jacking crazy shots and fit in with the offense and not become it he would become a much better asset to this team.
I love Artest, but I dont see a point of re signing him, and lets say, Gortat, without Yao. Sure, we'd be competitive, but Astros (fool's hope) competitive. We'll win 42 games and finish 9th in the West. This will leave us in a no man's land. We'll have the 14th pick in the 'lotto', and have money tied up now in 2010 preventing us from a big splash.
I'm a big Artest detractor, and even I think we should sign him. I want to trade him at the first opportunity, maybe even a sign-and-trade. But, to not sign him is like leaving money on the table. He's an asset that could be traded for someone we want as long as we can get him signed to a reasonable contract. We're over the cap; it's not like we can just go with someone else with the same money.
Ron is the heart of this team Dick Justice is a joke of a writer, especially when it comes to the Rockets
contending teams could only afford the mle for artest.....which means the rox could offer something more and ron would prob take it. teams that can afford more to ron are the ones that aren't contenders so ron aint going to those teams. ron is the heart of the rockets. he has made poor choices but he's made some great plays too. in the state of the rox, we really need ron to come back. people have such short memories that its been 12 years since we got out of the 1st round. we had yao and tracy against dallas a while back and we couldn't even get past the 1st round. with ron, we have some balls.
supposedly artest WANTS TO be here in Houston and they're trying to make that happen. ________________________________ While the Rockets face uncertainty about when Yao will play again and who will fill in for him, they can be certain about where they stand with Artest. Artest’s agent, David Bauman, said Yao’s condition has not changed Artest’s desire to return to the Rockets next season. “Our first choice is to do a deal with Houston,” Bauman said. “Yao’s situation doesn’t change that. It has not affected us one way or another. “He (Artest) is concerned more for Yao than anything.” With Yao, Artest had considered the Rockets to be contenders, citing that potential as one of the reasons he hoped to re-sign with them this summer. Likes Rockets’ depth Bauman said he and Artest are confident that if Yao does miss much or all of next season, the Rockets have the depth and roster flexibility to make moves without stepping back to rebuild. “The beauty of what Daryl (Morey, the Rockets’ general manager) has done is the Rockets are not just Yao Ming,” Bauman said. “They are Ron. They are Aaron (Brooks). They are Shane (Battier) And they are (Luis) Scola. That’s the great thing about this team. They can fire on five or six different cylinders.” Bauman would not discuss contract demands. Besides the Rockets, who can exceed the salary cap to sign Artest, there are few teams that have the salary-cap room to offer Artest a contract larger than the mid-level exception. When the Rockets traded for Artest last summer, Artest and Bauman asked to put off contract negotiations because the maximum extension at the time, four years and $37 million, might not have been market value. “We know what we want,” Bauman said. “I think the market will support that. Our first choice is to sit down with those guys. “He wants to come back to Houston. That’s his first choice. We have to balance all those considerations, as does Houston.”
justice was the biggest artest hater out there when we traded for him last offseason. I think he's reaching a bit with this report. He seems to be assuming alot by saying Morey thinks Artest won't be happy if he's underpaid. Everything I've heard out of Morey's mouth has suggested they want Artest back and Artest wants to be back. Ron wanted a new deal before last season and he didn't complain when he didn't get it. I can see him signing a one year deal and testing the market next year when teams have more money to spend.
What scares me is that with Yao out there is nobody on the team that Ron would consider an "equal" or someone he would listen to on the court. In his mind, their is no doubt now that if he returns this team is his. Unless Morey can bring in a player who produces on the court and who can be a vocal leader this will be Ron's team and that isn't a good thing.
i don't like richard justice but he's absolutely spot on with this blog entry. morey is in a very difficult situation.
If artest is unhappy about any situation... he lets the world know and doesn't take it... if he was offended by us supposedly "low balling" him then he would probably take a lesser contract some where else just to let us know whats up
