he may never do another thing wrong in his career after being traded, but how is indy a bad environment? they're a winning team and the fans seem to like them. portland started to fall off, got a bad relationship going with the fans, and was loaded w/ troublemakers, who does indy have after artest? maybe stephen jackson?
Maxwell's greatest asset was also his greatest flaw. I'm reading "DREAMLAND" book about the 94 season, and right way, they talk about the win streak and how Vernon doesn't like Clyde. Maxwell had PRIDE. so to replace him with someone he didn't like didn't boast well with Vernon. Also, indirectly, Vernon brought us the 2nd championship, because he forced the team to rally around Clyde. Overall, I still think Vernon is more of Rocket than Clyde. He played more years, he was part of the foundation. Unlike you, I can't hate a guy knowing what he has done for this team, city, and the world. Dont forget Vernon tried to beat up Gary Payton when he went to Seattle. Still a Rocket at heart. Do you watch Inside the NBA? Kenny always gives props to Vernon. Vernon Maxwell is the 2nd greatest Rocket of all time. PERIOD. He set the standard of what CLUTCH CITY is about. I dont like Clyde's politically correct attitude. I want a Vernon player who curses and tells it like it is. I want a guy who fires up the team, who's not afraid of anything. I forgive Vernon for it. Its not like he's Scottie Pippen.
I in no way feel desperate for going after this guy. He's good and he got in a fight. A fight. Fighting is pretty normal. We let Eddie Griffen go because he was involved with weapons and family abuse. Someone messes with you and you mess back is not 'crazy' in my book. In fact it's pretty normal to react to behavior like that. Who's to say that he'll be suspended again too? As long as fans keep from throwing a full drink at his face I think we're going to be okay with his temper. As far as comparing him to Rodman? Get real. The guy likes his music and he got in a fight. Dennis Rodman did a lot more stuff over his career, but when he was on a good team he won championships. Ron Artest will concentrate when our team is winning. You can balance music and basketball. I think we should even encourage him to play music. It can help you relax your mind and that can help other areas of concern when there is down time. Kermit hit our guy. Artest hit a fan that started a fight with him in Detroit. Bad comparison. There are a lot of reasons that we may not get Artest, but don't let the media's version of who Artest is as a person make our decision. The media will tear anyone down because that's their job. Lift the crazy label within the Rockets organization off this guy and trade for him.
The environment was Detroit and he had teammates that were acting 'hard'. I'm not saying that O'neal and Jackson are bad guys or something, but if they weren't on the team then Artest wouldn't have reacted that way in my opinion. I'm basically saying that he had some encouragement. The Rockets don't have that mentality that the Pacers have. Players play hard, but they don't fight. If we did get Artest I would think that we may need to trade Sura. You only need one enforcer to make you tough. Two to find a fight.
I love the idea of Artest as a Rocket. An unbelievable defender who can score as well. People make a big deal out of our defense as it is. Adding Artest would make the boasting credible. He'd be an awesome pickup in my opinion. As far as I've seen and read, Artest is not "crazy" or a "loon". He may have bad judgment in general and certainly has problems with his emotions. He can't control his anger. Thats his main problem but its a problem that can be solved. For some people any negative emotion and sometimes even positive emotions can get transfered into anger. I don't know which way Artests mind works but I know what its like to have serious anger problems. I also know whats its like to fix them and know from my own experience that it doesn't take a psychiatrist or medication if you put yourself in the right surroundings. I went from being someone who would get angry that my blood pressure skyrocket so much that my nose would bleed and I'd want to do nothing but hurt whoever triggered it in me to being someone who non-violently keeps the peace when anyone starts fighting with me or anyone else. So, I may be biased because of this but I've seen it happen. Why can't it happen for Artest?
I KNEW that someone would excuse Artest's actions because they were directed at a fan instead of another player! Tell me, would it had been more serious if he'd hit an usher? Security guard? How about the guy that sold that fan the beer? This proves my point: that folks here are so desperate to find a PF, that they are willing to over look almost anything from these guys. In my book, Artest is a modern day version of Kermit Washington. Artest is sorry because of the severity of the punishment he received not because of the deed itself. It's the same with Washington. He 's on the latest Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and to this day he shows no remorse for nearly killing a man. He is sorry because of the punishment that came his way and how his actions led to his being persona non grata with the NBA - not for the deed itself. Artest, like Washington, has violence in his core being and he has demonstrated on more than one occasion that he's not hesitant to unleash it whether on or off the court. That's WHO he is and nothing, not the fines, not the suspensions, not the year off - will change that. It's not a question of IF he'll go off but WHEN. And as I and others here have pointed out, all of his athletic talents are useless to you if he's suspended or in jail. I simply don't understand how you or anyone else can be so sure that he'll suddenly start to behave in a rational manner just because he's playing for the Rockets. Artest has to sincerely WANT to change his behavior and so far, he has shown no inclination to do so. All he's interested in now is getting back into the league so that he can get paid.
Because unlike yourself, Artest does not WANT to change. And, as long as there are folks like yourself who are willing to overlook and forgive anything and everything he has done in the past or may do in the future, there will be no reason for him to change.
Do you know this through your deep discussions with him or did you bribe his therapist for access to his session notes?
My my my, that was a very cute response on your part. Tell me, did you think it up all by yourself or did you get your mommy to help you to spell the long words?
If I recall, the fans provoked him. Rudy did no such thing. So where's your comparison now? And yes I do call throwing things at a man that's just laying there as provoking. So what if you paid for those seats? You want to treat someone like garbage, then you're no better yourself.
Wasnt Rasheed Wallace looked at as a , punk, a thug, and a pot head w/ a bad temper? funny how that turned out.......but then again, the Pistons never did have their priorities straight, the Rockets should know better who cares about a ring, just get a bunch of good guys to play ball like the Astros.......
Check my profile, I would venture a guess that I am older than you. Based on this response, I already know I am more intelligent and thoughtful than you are. You might want to avoid insulting me again. I gave you a pass this time, but I am fairly certain that I can insult you much more effectively than you can. Don't mess with the bull or you will get the horns. Now to address the point of the post you decided to deride... How exactly do you know so much about the psyche and inner workings of Artest's mind?
Washington thought he was protecting himself. He heard footsteps coming up behind him and did what many people in his position would've done with an obviously unfortunate outcome. He thought there was a punch coming to the back of his head, not a beer.
Wasn't Artest, technically, protecting himself as well then? Hey I think Artest's suspension is justified. If Maxwell got 10 games, Artest deserved as least that. But when it comes down to it, if you can get him for expiring contracts and change, why not?
Anybody that's still waffling over whether Artest is insane or not, need to read this: http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96732&highlight=artest
Dude, stop feeding the trolls !!! You are rendering my ignore list useless by responding to that hater.
First of all, who insulted whom first? Did your post offer anything but a sacastic rebuke to mine? No. Did you offer some evidence to the contrary, no, I think not. While I'm glad that you are happy with your level of intelligence, it might have been a bit more productive to simply ask me the question that you asked above. Had you INTELLIGENTLY done so, I would THOUGHFULLY responded thusly although unless you are an African-American male, you won't fully understand: After the Pacers-Pistons episode and the resultant fallout, a black reporter wrote an insightful article that appeared in a black publication that offered details into Artest's background. You see, after the suspension, Artest retreated to his old hood. Having come from the same type of background, albeit in Houston, I started to understand who Artest really is and what drives him. In his eyes, people like himself, people who come from his environment aren't supposed to make it because our society tells them in no uncertain terms that their lives have no value, that they are disposable people. You have to fight to survive and to fight you need something to fuel that fight. Some use hate as the fuel while others tap into their anger and rage against society. I know these feelings all too well because this happened to me. I also know that this is an anger that never goes away. Now because Artest showed the ability to play a game and play it well, he was allowed to receive the opportunity to "escape" this environment and ultimately make it to the NBA. You see, despite the fact that he has come so far from the tough, hardscrabble environment of his childhood, despite the fact that he's paid millions (or was paid), to play a game, in his mind, he is still the same guy who had to fight his way off the streets. He still feels the anger and it fuels his drive to survive. But this an anger that cannot be controlled over a long period of time. That's why he continues go "ballistic" when he feels that he's been attacked or wronged in some way even when he has so very much to lose. His rage, his anger is what has enabled him to survive and you simply cannot divorce his athletic talent from his core personality. Because folks like yourself and society in general are ONLY interested in his ability to play basketball and are willing to overlook and tolerate just about anything as long as he's available to play the game, there is absolutely no incentive for Artest to deal with his anger in a constructive way. He has never had to find the balance between his anger and resentment and living in this society as others such as myself have had to do in order to live a life without rancor. He didn't have to - basketball shielded him from this. Hence, he knows that no matter what, there will be some team that will pay him millions as along as they believe that he can help them win. To date, Artest has shown no inclination to change so when he does come come back it will only be a matter of time before he goes off again - most likely when some fan uses the "n" word to describe his family lineage. Now just imagine for a moment what type of reception this guy is going to receive from fans around the league. Do you believe that he will be able to deal with what certainly will be an escalated level of verbal abuse and harassment? It goes without saying that David Stern & the league would not be sorry if Artest were to simply go away because in their eyes, it is BLACK players like him that are causing fans, especially older white fans (read affluent $$$), to turn away from the NBA. That's another consequence of the system: when your usefulness has ended, you are gone. I'm sure Artest also understands this as well and it has to make him...angry. As for the rest of your rather cryptic post, I believe that I will pass meeting the horny bull.
There's a huge difference between a beer thrown from 10 rows up and someone charging at you (of course, Rudy T wasn't charging to hit Washington, but you can't really fault Washington for his thinking at the time) from behind in the middle of a fight.
I just went back and read it again and you definitely did the insulting first. Your post (the one I quoted and sarcastically rebuked) didn't deserve anything else. Had you posted what I have quoted below, I would not have been sarcastic. You made an equivocal statement (Artest does not WANT to change) with nothing whatsoever to support it. Your post smacked of assumptions and little else, thus the sarcasm. I don't feel like it is OK for us to write off Artest (or anyone else) without any chance for redemption. Sprewell physically attacked and choked his coach, earning a one year suspension after which he has had zero problems in that department. I am not saying that Artest will be able to rehabilitate his image as Spree did (before the "feed my family" comment), but he deserves that chance no matter where he plays next year. That will work out well for you.
