Does Houston have a problem? Artest responds to Yao comments

Thats what I dont get. All we hear about on Artest is the bad side of him. No good news, no ok news, just the negative about him. Of course he doesnt have the best history but still.

 

My gut feeling is that Ron isn't the kind of guy who forgets things like that and hence the sarcastic praise for Yao,but deep inside he knows that Yao is right that he can't go off into the stands.

He also knows that Yao does not know where he is coming from because of the culture and environment that he grew in. Ron is very concerned about his long term future because he knows his value has decreased because of his behavior.I think he knows that he doesn't too much leverage in getting an immediate extension but wants the Rockets to assure him that he is part of their long term plan.

Yao wants him on the team,and he made that very clear despite his reservations. I think the Organization will be able to work things and Ron will join the team. When Ron sees that the guys care about him and the professional culture on the team,he will respect them. My main concern is that if he sees signs of weaknesses with Yao and Tracy(let's face they aren't the toughest guys) he will eventually give up on them.

I would appreciate comments from anyone.

 

Wow, that was a great interview. Wheres the problem at? Tru Warier had some classic quotes in this one.

 

maybe you read a different article, but it pretty much summed it up "he's a great player and it would be nice to have him, but i'd rather not"

 

He did not say or imply he rather not.

 

Ron was offended. He said Yao should have called him and talked to his dad about it.

Do I blame Ron for feeling pissed? I love Yao to death. I think this one is on Yao. Even if he has doubt about Ron's attitude, he should have kept his mouth shut.

Now do I think there will be a problem? It's Yao. He makes peace pretty much with everybody, Ron will find out.

 

Well, I am not trying to defend Ron's past, but on this one, I was really surprised how honest Yao was to Fran in that report. You don't say that kind of stuff about your future teammates to the media, especially someone as established as Ron Artest. Just my opinion.

 

imo yao should definitely call ron ron. as the team leader, it's always a good idea to welcome a new member. I also think his comments were unnecessary, but ultimately harmless. it seems ron knows he is a different cat...kind of an acquired taste...and once yao gets to know him will probably like him.

ron ron has the perfect attitude about this, right now. he's willing to be a cog and not the wheel. he's self-aware of his personality.

all yao has to do is the right thing: don't let hubris get in the way. make the call to ron ron and welcome him!

as for the extension, we need to lock him up for a 4 years. he's an absolute nut, but an absolute beast. one of the top players in the L and - as are most nba players - most productive when he's happy. right now, he's estatic. let's keep him that way.

 

X number of threads about this in the GARM says he implied it quite clearly. i just hope this doesnt scuttle the deal

 

On the other hand Artest went out of his way to be diplomatic, so I don't think you can say that their relationship is already damaged beyond repair or even that Artest is going to be coming in on a bad note.

 

Jeez Artest is really talkative.

 

I am not worried about Yao at all. It's the other "hot heads" on the team I worry about. If there were to be rifts between Ron and those people, you know Yao is going to get involved. Yao didn't lead this one well at all.

Is this because of Ron? Kinda yes. The Rockets team in Yao's tenure has had good chemistry throughout because of majority of them are good citizen. This will be a huge test to see how Yao and Tmac handel this. Tmac can be too honest at times as well.

Maybe I am reaching here.

 

Yao is from China and Ron is from the Ghetto so Houston should be a great place for them to coexist - we have some of both. They just have to get back in town to coexist is all.

 

Excuse me, but this is Yao Ming's fault. He should have been way more diplomatic in his comments to Blinebury. He fell for the predictable media questions about Artest's rap sheet. Just brush aside those questions, man. You've been in this league long enough to know the drill. Nothing good can come of taking the bait.

Yao needs to get on the phone to Artest as soon as he legally can, making it crystal clear that he's excited about playing together and that Artest's first stop in Houston has to be dinner at Yao's house.

Also this is the leaker's fault (apparently, that's the Rockets, since the trade broke in the Chron) for breaking this story more than two weeks before the trade can officially be consummated. So we now have two weeks of trouble-making reporters controlling the story rather than phone calls and hugs and a press conference.

 

i think ron knows his place here in houston he isnt the go to guy like he was in sac town here he can feed off yao and tmac you cant double team either or artest will make them pay but hey i think the comments yao made were more solely to artest saying hey he has done what he did yeah but he needs to leave it there if he wants to come here but im glad he knows he the 3rd option n wants to aceept that roll

 

That's a great point.

 

Unlike many of you, I only see what it is. That is Ron is kinda pissed by Yao's comments. This is just a way Ron Artest venting it out. Of course there is contract situation.

Ron is never happy. So get used to it. I don't like how this unfolds. Yao should know better. Maybe he will learn.

 

well, it wasn't right for yao to bring up the detroit incident. scola was also concerned but scola simply said i never played with him so no comment. yao should have said that and none of this would have happened.

everybody should do what tmac has done (apparently he's the ONLY one who has called artest on the phone personally) and greet him with open arms

 

I like your insight.Developing a relationship will be very important.I didn't appreciate the urgency that is needed. Do you feel Ron will show up if Yao doesn't call him before August 14th?

 

even if yao doesn't do anything, artest will show up. tmac already has stated how he felt and that was a lot of praise. we all know adelman loves artest. the rest of the team seem to welcome him. artest is not stupid.

but i didn't like how in that interview he mentioned tmac, battier, and alston and left out yao as guys he looked forward to playing with. purposefully or not, it's not good.