Bird: Artest trade will happen soon Pacers president dismisses idea that All-Star's pending departure is a legitimate distraction By Mark Montieth mark.montieth@indystar.com The Indiana Pacers appear to be closing in on a trade involving Ron Artest. In the meantime, team president Larry Bird doesn't accept the argument that all the intrigue surrounding their forward should be a factor in the team's play. "It's no distraction," Bird said Monday. "Donnie (Walsh) has built this team on depth." "What happens after this? Are they going to be distracted by the trading deadline? It's all about who you have that night. If Ronnie was injured and he was out, would it be the same way? Players are always looking for excuses and it's unfortunate. This league is built on guys competing." A few Pacers acknowledged that the trade rumors involving Artest -- and in some cases other team members -- have been disruptive. Bird believes they won't have to wait much longer. He said the Pacers are talking with "five, maybe six" teams, all in the Western Conference. He doesn't expect more than two teams to be included in the deal, and hopes not to have to package. "I can't say we're in love with all the deals, but they're getting better," Bird said. "Last week was a pretty good week. The offers improved. There's some teams that want no part of him, and others who say, 'This is the guy we need to get over the hump.' "They know he can be a difference-maker. I have to agree with them." Luxury tax considerations have complicated matters, as the Pacers don't want to take on too much additional salary in a trade. "I'm a firm believer you have to be patient in this league," Bird said. "The teams that are patient in trades (have more success). We'd like to get this done, but we've got a job to do and we have to make sure our fans are happy with what we get. They're our paying customers and we're trying to do our best for them." http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/SPORTS04/601240418/1004/SPORTS
Vecsey at the NY Post says Peja-Artest talks are on. He rarely has good info, though he has many Pacers contacts since he has known team President Donnie Walsh since high school. Peja's bad back and free agent status scares me. Hopefully Martin or Garcia or Hart would be added in, with another Pacer guard going back.
i can't remember where I heard it, but artest hates to be called 'ronnie'. i think Bird might be getting in a little dig there.
If it is a Peja trade, wouldn't have happened a long time ago? I mean, that trade has been rumored forever. I guess unless the Pacers finally think that's the best they can get for him now and/or Sac-Town is throwing more into the deal. I don't know, just seems off. Why wouldn't Indy just find a team with 1 or 2 expiring deals and a good 1st pick since Peja is probably leaving in the offseason anyway? Peja isn't going to make them a contender this season.
What is the value of expiring contracts to a team that already has $61m committed for the 06-07 season? Unless you feel a single WC draft pick is going to vault the Pacers to the level of DET or MIA, there is only one and only one very minor reason...to lower the LTax hit for 06-07. And the expirings will have minimal impact since the $61m is for 11 current contracts and does not count draft picks or filling out the roster to 15.
Gater, isn't this the point of the post? Peja will probably leave at the end of the season making it essentially an expiring contract deal. For a team that is already in luxury tax land, why not try and get a player that will benefit the team, or truly go expiring deals with a horrible team and try to get a lottery pick?
Bender's 7 million will likely be paid by insurance after he retires, making the figure about 54 mill, then Croshere's 9.5 mil comes off the books after that. This may be about getting the salary level in the low 50's within 2 years and have little to do with winning anything.
