Is there a chance that Artest and JVG won't get along? Yes. But my guess is they will get along perfectly. They both have the same type of no-nonsense personalities and believe that defense should be a top priority. JVG has coached knuckle-heads in the past over in New York and they all loved playing for him. JVG doesn't care if you are a knucklehead or not, just as long as you bust you butt and play hard. And no one plays harder than Artest does. This would be a great fit for the Rockets. Another point to add. Artest is the type of inforcer you need to have Yao's back. All of these elbows and scratches across his face will stop with Artest in the lineup. Other players are affraid of him.
that would be a big SPLASH!!! That is what this team needs... A FIREBALL!!! ENERGY!!! but will JVG be able to handle him? I would be happy if we land Artest.
Before we start offering Head and Swift wouldn't it be better if we first offer Alston,Howard,Baxter and maybe throw in Norris and see if they bite?
Yeah, I'd rather offer up anyone on our team not named TMac or Yao before I'd start offering up Head. He's already shown that he's a solid rookie--good defense, increadible 3-point shooter, and can take it to the hole. Plus, he's decent at ball-handling, and decent at dishing, and decent w/steals. The thing that needs the most work is shooting inside the arc, which is definitely something that can improve with work. So I'd also try to hook them with someone else. But I'm all for Ron Artest as a Rocket!
DON'T GIVE UP HEAD. I'd hang up the phone if they want a package that included Luther Head. He's going to be a great point guard.
Mike James took low percentage shots and could never get the ball into t-mac or yao. Artest is a more efficient scorer and he won't be bringing the ball up the court. I don't see why you guys think Artest will hate the offense so much. Once the ball gets into T-Mac's hands, JVG let's him do anything with it, including taking quick jumpers. That's because T-Mac knows how to create his own shot. Artest is the same way. JVG will give him leeway. It's the David Wesley's and Derek Andersons of the world that have to execute the play exactly how its supposed to be. Right now McGrady is carrying us, I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking a few less shots if someone else can make them. McGrady could save all his energy for the fourth quarter so we can pull away in close games. They can score, but T-Mac and Artest would make such a great defensive tandem as well. Can you imagine being able to shut down at least a guard and a forward every night? that's huge. Not to mention that T-Mac and Artest are averaging 4.2 steals together. T-Mac: 25 Artest:23 Yao: 18 Rest of the Team: scraps and leftovers
ESPN INSIDER is just dumb. the lakers would give up odom for artest. and probably earn themselves a 4 isntead of a 1. as for us: same deal. we get a 1 because jarry and moochie for artest is just dumb. i'd trade stro, DA, and this years unprotected first. it's not peja, or nene...or the cap relief of tim thomas. but it's at least a decent offer. --------------- the point is we just can't match offer like those listed above. we might as well stop thinking of deals for him.
First, I said no less than 4 times that trade scenario was not neccessarily plausible. Only an example of a way we would have to arrange a three-way. We have expiring deals. Indiana wants talent for talent to maintain its title aspirations, not expiring deals. (Hint - Indiana would need to dump 20 million in salary to get *to* the salary cap threshold this summer and more like $30 mill to get under enough to offer contracts to players). -->If we want Artest, we need third team that would be willing to move a major talent in return for Swift and cap relief. That third team would need to be mediocore with no immediate hope for a title and have a semi-disgruntled player that would welcome a move to a contender. Boston fits that to a T. Personally, I doubt we get Artest. But I'm just trying to look at this from a Rocket's perspective. Evan
All I keep thinking about with people looking to aquire Artest is the Rasheed Wallace to Detroit trade. At the time Detroit was a good team with great chemistry and everyone thought Rasheed would screw it all up. But the reality was they need someone that was extremely passionate about winning. This is the same type of situation with the same possibilities for success and failure. Could Artest be the missing piece to a championship run? The answer is obviously yes. Could Artest come in and screw up everything? The answer is obviously yes. Would I want the Rockets to go ahead and take a risk for the championship? HELL YES!!!!
So here's a trade I could live with: Outgoing: David Wesley 6-1 SG from Baylor 8.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.0 apg in 31.7 minutes Stromile Swift 6-9 PF from Louisiana State 8.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.3 apg in 21.5 minutes Moochie Norris 6-1 PG from West Florida 2.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.1 apg in 7.9 minutes Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 7.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.1 apg in 31.3 minutes Derek Anderson 6-5 SG from Kentucky 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg in 29.6 minutes Incoming Austin Croshere 6-10 PF from Providence 8.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.0 apg in 27.1 minutes Ron Artest 6-7 SF from St. John's 19.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.2 apg in 37.8 minutes Jamaal Tinsley 6-3 PG from Iowa State 9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.5 apg in 27.5 minutes Change in team outlook: +0.3 ppg, -2.1 rpg, and -2.5 apg. Why for Indiana: They said they wanted young talent and salary cap relief. they get Stomile Swift who is young and has a nice contract for his ability. He could develop into a reliable backup for O'neal and Center against smaller teams (or maybe O'neal would be center and Swift would be pf, I don't know). They get rid of Croshere's ugly contract, they get expiring contracts in Moochie and Wesley, another good short term contract in Derek Anderson who can be the third player in a sg/sf rotation of Granger, DA and SJax (to cover up Artest's playing time), they get ride of Tinsley's long contract and injury prone ways and replace him with Alston's cheaper, two years shorter contract. The way Sarunas J is playing right now, Tinsley would lose his starting job anyway when he got back, and Alston is a serviceable backup pg. Why for Houston: Artest is self explanatory, Croshere would replace Swift (although his contract is big and has no upside but he's reliable off the bench, give us a pf who can shoot the three, and a hard worker), take a chance on tinsley who has more upside than Alston but more injury proned and a longer contract. We keep Head, who has shown flashes of being good. This does leave us pretty thin at the guard spot, especially if Tinsley is in and out of the lineup and Sura doesn't return. JVG would have to get creative with his guard lineup, but he's good at that. Power forward is a little thinner as well, but definitely better than last year. Head would also have to grow up in a hurry and McGrady would play point forward more often (but that worked last night to the tune of 7 turnovers). We might need to sign a cheap free agent for a little more depth. Spreewell anyone? Just kidding. There's got to be a back up sg languishing away somewhere in the league. Depth Chart: Pg: Jamal Tinsley/Luther Head Sg: Artest/Head/McGrady/Barry/Graham? Sf: McGrady/Artest/Bowen Pf: Howard/Croshere/Baxter C: Yao/Mutumbo
A couple of things: First: I hate Ron Artest; however, he probably rounds out the top 10 for best players in the NBA. I also think that if any coach could handel him, it would be JVG. 2nd: I'm sorry to be a party pooper, but the only shot we have of getting Artest would be if Head was thrown into the deal. I undertand how much everyone likes him (i love him too), but we simply don't have the pieces to make a competitive offer considering how many teams are after him. 3rd: If we gave up Head, and an expiring contract, that might be enough to get it done. I doubt they'll take on Howard. So baically, we should ask ourselves wether Head is worth giving up for Artest. In my opinion; absolutely. Artest is still pretty young, and any time you get a chance to pull the trigger on a top 10 proven talent without giving up your main building blocks, you have to do it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would trade Head for Artest in a second.
Good idea for the Trade Matt, but we would lose too many players and swift is starting to improve. I like it though. Tinsley and Artest would be awesome on this team.
Listening to a sports radio interview with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, the hosts asked him about trading Artest. He says that the Celtics have contacted Indiana, and that 16 teams have inquired about Ron Artest.
