This is from ESPN Insider. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...mns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=2257708 The Rockets' Chances ???? UNLIKELY.
The reasons to get Artest..... 1) Top perimeter defender in the game. We suck at perimeter defense. Currently, our idea of defending a penetrator is to funnel him towards the basket from every possible direction. And if for any reason the guy refuses to penetrate, we punish him by giving daylight to shoot the three. 2) One of the top in the leage in toughness. Currently we are made up of flower forwards and pink pansies. Add Artest to the team and he is 10 times tougher than any of our 7-6 centers or power forwards. You need toughness to win a championship. When was the last time a team of softies won everything? 3) If teamed with Tmac and Yao, he becomes part of the reliable 1-2-3 scoring trio option. He might even replace Yao as the second option on the team since yao is still improving. Although I should say, in terms of scoring. In terms of touches Yao should still be ahead to make things easier for everybody. 4) He relieves Tmac from the duty to guard the best guard/forward on the other team in playoffs. If we had Artest against Dallas last year, Artest would have shut down Dirk very much like Tmac did. Tmac would have more energy to spend on offense and could have averaged more than 35 since Dallas had no answer for him. 5) It would take a shotgun and some illegal activity to score against a duo of tmac and Artest on perimeter/wing. 6) We would have 3 mismatches on the court 99% of the time, all in favor of us. Yao is too big for single coverage. Tmac is just too good for anyone to hold one on one. Artest is too quick to be held by power players, and too powerful to be checked by quick players. Downright scary. 7) Since Les Alexander is no Mark Cuban when it comes to spending, Artest is one of very few star players he can afford to team up with Yao and Tmac. Almost all others would make the max and scare Alexander off. He is one of the best bargains salary wise. You get a whole lot of bang on and off the court for around $6 million per year. 8) Since coming to Houston, Artest would be the first player that fits JVG's system perfectly. Tough, take no prisoner attitude, and all ghetto. He is Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, and Anthony Bonner combined, with 10 times their game. JVG is salvating to add Artest to the team. 9) Getting Artest in Houston prevents other rival teams from getting better. Dallas, Spurs, Lakers, Memphis, and Denver must be prevented from having him. 10) Dream used a nut like Maxwell to win his first championship, Jordan tamed that wierdo Rodman for three rings, and now its Tmac's turn to keep Artest in check for a dynasty. If Tmac manages to do it, he is instantly seen as a true leader by everyone in the league. 11) His attitude/history makes him a risk BUT the rewards could be huge. If, things dont work out, his contract isnt a handicap. You can bet other teams in future will be ready to take a gamble on him, and we can always get something in return. 12) Houston is probably the least to worrry about him going out in stands to punch a fan. We just dont have enough people filling the lower seats. 13) Getting Artest means a fresh start for EVERYONE. Houston's terrible start to the season is forgotten. Artest probably just needs a change of scenery. ......well there you have it. The 13 lucky reasons to land Artest.
Man artest fits the bill for our needs. we need a defensive primeter stopper, artest does that. we need a reliable clutch player after tracy, with artest we get that. we need a trojan who will fight for the team, with artest we get that. damn, it would be a dream to see a tracy and artest play alongside eacjhother.
No his not. pound-for-pound, Artrest is the best on the ball defender in the league. he has the potential to be an MVP. two years ago, he was a MVP candidate.
I agree. Maxwell eventually went real nut and quit on the team. Rodman is wierd and obnoxious, but he's not crazy. His contract might not cost us a lot. But if we are to give up young talents (Head and Swift as many suggested here) and draft picks for him, that means we are mortgaging the future. If he doesn't work out, we are left with no resources to build around TMac and Yao. I like your insight. I don't know about Artest's fresh start. But if the Rockets need to get Artest to get a fresh start, we are really in trouble. Bottom line is, the risk is huge especially if we give away our future core. Some people point to the success stories of Rasheed and Rodman. But Artest is unlike any of them. In fact, he's unlike any player in the NBA history. The closest one might be Vernon Maxwell. But even Maxwell never told his coach he needed some time off in the middle of the season to work on his CD. And Maxwell, never told the media in the middle of a winning season that the team was better off without him. Can't you folks see how unstable this guy's psyche is?
Artest has a small contract. Whatever the deal is, the pacers will probably put in another guy, probably Croshere. Stro or Howard will probably be in the trade, i would prefer to send howard. Head is hands off, the kid is a rookie doing great, management would never trade him. Wesley and Anderson are the only real options. Unless teh pacers want.
they are blinded by his talent level. This is Quitten all over again. We get our supposed third star, and when he doesnt fit in to the structured offense that VG is famous for using, he quits on us. and for that priviledge, we give up the best rookie we have had since Cat. I still say no thanks. His history shows he is untamable, and he WILL blowup again. Why should we be in the blast radius?
Bottom line is: We don't have any more time to waste. Sick of the waiting. Everyone thought we'd be an elite team THIS YEAR. Go back & look at the pre-season predictions. We'd challenge San Antonio, Dallas, & Phoenix? HAAAA! We can't challenge Memphis! Fact is, we're FAR from being elite. Sure, play has improved since the T-Mac is back, but we're STILL a possible LOTTERY TEAM. Everyone, including the forever-horrendous CLIPPERS (of all people,) have made drastic improvements. & look at what the SUNS are doing without Amare! They can play without their big gun. We sure as crap couldn't. Imagine when he comes back how good they'll be. We need yet another drastic move. We're too old, & can't cover the pick&roll. Need a major change. Everyone thinks, "Well, we won 50 games last year with this team." Who cares? It's also the team that BLEW IT in the playoffs & we're humiliated by the supposedly sinking Mavs. If we can somehow brainwash the Pacers into taking some of our junk for two years of Artest, we should DO IT, & DO IT NOW!!! lol
I dont think trading anyone for Artest would be good, especially going forward into other seasons. Artest has already said that after this season, he'll be a free agent and sign to a east coast team.
That's interesting. We'd have to work a three-way trade, IMO. Half-dead players with expiring deals isn't going to do it for the Pacers. They want to stay elite, not initiate a rebuilding. Plan on Croshere and/or Bender being part of the tab for Artest. One scenario that *may* be plausable would be: Rox deal: Swift, Wesley, Anderson, Moochie, Mutombo ($18 million) Pacers deal: Artest, Bender, Croshere ($22.5) Boston deals: Pierce, Blount ($19.3) Rox recieve: Artest, Blount, Croshere ($20.9) Pacers recieve: Pierce, Mutombo, Wesley ($20.9) Boston recieves: Swift, Bender, Anderson, Moochie ($18) Rockets get Artest with Mutombo the only truly painful loss. Pacers send Artest out of the conference, dump their two worst contracts, and get an All-Star in his prime as well as strong defensive center in return. Boston finally divorces from Pierce, swaps an overpaid Blount for Swift, and will be in position to get under the cap if Bender retires/accepts a buyout because of his knees as expected. Salaries match within 125% This isn't a proposal or a "get it down CD!" post. Just throwing it out there as something that *might* work. Evan
How's that going to work? He doesn't have a player option for another three summers. Are you mixing him up with Peja? Evan
You people were ready to run Mike James out the door because he took too many shots away from TMac. Now you want Artest, who's going to take even more shots because "he wants to get paid"? Forgive me for not understanding.
