What would it take to get Ron Artest??

If you haven't heard, Ron Artest has gone from being trade bait to franchise player for the bulls. It would take alot, probably in the range of Cat + extras or Stevie straight up (I know Houston wouldn't do it but Chicago would want it) They are shopping C-Oak (What a waste) and Ron Mercer. Also involved could be Fizer, Miller, Ollie, or Guyton.

 

Let's trade Steve and his migraines for Artest. Artest is taller, quicker and less selfish.

 

gr8-1 you got to be kiddin me. You want to trade the west alls-star starting point gaurd, for some loser with the bulls, sure and then make Mobley and artest our top offensive treads. do you want houston te be the worst team in the nba. And how can you possible call steve Selfish???????? he is one of the less selfish superstars in the nba. i gues you think Allen Iverson is a good passer and teamplayer, who looks for i'ts teammates first

i got another great idee, lets trade Griffin&mobley and taylor to memphis for Solomon&masenburg&nick anderson, then we know for sure we'll be last this year and the next 10 years

 

some rockets fans are a joke...artest for francis, get the heck out of here...i wouldn't trade francis for the entire bulls franchise....i can't believe this would be considered.

 

gr8-1 was joking.

Artest is mediocre. Good defender, but has neither great ball skills nor a great shot.

 

Artest has improved his ball skills 10-fold this year.

It really won't take that much to get him from Chi-town. The Bulls already have Chandler, Robinson, and maybe Fizer at SF.

The Bulls might trade him for a mid to late 1st rounder.

The thing is that Rudy would hate to have a guy like Artest. Historically, Rudy's SF's are required to just sit and shoot open 3s, and pretty much play no defense. Artest plays defense, and his forte is not shooting 3s.

If Rudy changes his offensive philosophy, Artest would be a great fit, because of his defensive ability. He would easily be the Rockets best man-to-man defender.

However, I would like to have a SF with shooting range.

 

Do you often want to trade better players for lesser players?

 

I keep hearing this from people about how Rudy uses the threes. But Robert Horry and Mario Ellie were both good at defense. Pippen, who is generally good at defense, did well, but not as well as previoiusly.

Also, hasn't KT been playing the 3 spot lately or Is EG playing the 3?

KT definitely just doesn't sit out and wait for open 3's to shoot, and EG plays strong defense night in and night out.

I'm trying to understand but the reality I see doesn't match the statement you posted.

 

I don't think so. Right now, Chandler is starting at the Power Forward slot and Fizer is backing him up. Robinson is at small forward and Artest is at SG. They're looking to trade Fizer though but Artest is now their franchise player.

 

Artest IS NOT their franchise player.

A team as crappy as the Bulls do not have 3 "franchise" players.

The two obvious franchise players they have are Curry and Chandler.

If you count Artest as a SF, that would mean the Bulls have 3 SF's who deserve 25-30 mins per game.

I have heard the Bulls do not want to keep Artest because of his short temper. Moreover, Artest's stock is very high right now since he seems to have improved his offensive skills greatly.

Artest might be a Bull for the long haul, but he is not a franchise player.

Especially over Curry and Chandler.

 

This is from TSN.

Now, why would the Bulls even want to keep a player who "volunteers" to be traded?

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/bulls/20020202.html

 

"Team captain Charles Oakley has nicknamed Artest "Ron the Rottweiler." The moniker seems apt because of the ferocious way Artest plays the game on both ends. The fact Artest is also a good scorer and rebounder might make him a better starter than Mercer at the two in Cartwright's rotation. "

This comes from the latest TSN report:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/bulls/

It also gives Artest a B for his position and says that he fits in much better than Mercer. I assume they would be willing to trade Mercer much more than Artest. It also says that Artest has become the Bulls best player in the last 3 weeks since coming back from injury. Also, your report is from Feb.2, a long time before they beat the sonics, lakers, and the bucks.

Short temper? Maybe, but I would call it the love for the game. Also, that is another reason the Bulls want to keep him because he's the only tough guy they've got.

 

I agree that Artest has been the Bulls best player during the time he has played. I have given him props.

However, the future of the Bulls franchise lies in Curry and Chandler, collectively.

You are highly overrating Artest if you think he is a franchise player. If the Bulls think he is a franchise player, and will be a Pippen-like player, they are sadly mistaken as well.

I agree that the Bulls would rather trade Mercer. But shooting guards who shoot 40% are a dime a dozen. His large contract makes him an impossibility to trade. Not to mention that he is running out of teams to play on, having played for the Celts, Magic, and Nuggets. There has to be some kind of baggage that comes along with a young journeyman like Mercer. It is evident that the Bulls only signed him because they needed to sign SOMEBODY after striking out on all their other big free agent targets in the summer of 2000. He was the last "big-name" FA to be signed.

On the other hand, Artest is very tradable because he doesn't make that much, and he is still young.

I could see the Bulls trading Artest for a veteran PG, if they can't get Jason Williams.

If you follow the Bulls closely, and it sounds like you do, you would know they would give up their 2 nuts for a PG.

 

I think the mistake that everyone is making right now is that they are trying to apply logic to trades that the Bulls make.

They traded away Elton Brand, for draft picks. It seems to me the more off-limits a player on the Bulls would be, the more likely that player will be traded.