I don't agree with you at all... Yeah he has his flaws but even though he is shooting bad we are still in these games. He does make everyone better because he makes everyone a little tougher. Everyone is blaming artest for our problems but he is not our problem. He actually keeps us fighting. This team would have rolled over and gotten distroyed with mcgrady in the lineup shooting as bad as artest did last night. My problem was with brooks. He froze up and couldn't run the offense. AD is going to strongly consider lowry as the starting pg if brooks keeps this up.
Artest is Artest. Just because the guy is having a bad year doesn't mean you should get rid of him. Artest is not playin like Artest because he has to be on his best behavior so he can get what he wants. Once he get what he wants then you will see the real Ron Artest. At what point of the season did we see this Ron Artest?? <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jBx8LSwqRpE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jBx8LSwqRpE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Idk if anyone knows but how many T's did Artest get this year??
If management feels like this is Yao's team which it appears they do then they should definitely sit him down and ask him what he thinks about the future. If you are going to build around a player then you should definitely be asking his opinion on off-season moves.
If Ron plays well in the playoffs,he should be re-signed for a reasonable contract but he shouldn't get too much money or too many years. Otherwise let him walk since a sign and trade is going to be difficult to execute. No use in getting garbage back in return under any circumstances.
Are you kidding me?! There may be redundancies in defense, but I don't see Battier scoring 20 points regularly. Heck, I don't even see him scoring in the double digits on more than just a couple occassions. A glue guy, give me a break. We need a coach that is the glue. That's their job, to keep the team playing w/ the same mentality night in night out. We don't need someone that "let's his players play and figure it out for themselves." Get a coach that does that and Ron-Ron is fine. Better yet, it'd would solve our leadership issues and maybe we'd see Yao come back to his MVP self.
Look, I never wanted Artest to begin with, all the things I said at the beginning of the season in this thread came true. We are a leaderless team, and putting a strong personality like Ron in the clubhouse with no clear hierarchy is going to be a disaster, and Ron is just not an efficient basketball player. I was ok with the trade because we got him for so little, but I still believe not trading him at the deadline was a mistake, because he doesn't fit on a YaoCentric team, and particularly one with Tmac. He is an inefficient ball stopping player....was then, is now...and that ultimatly will cost the team. I acknowledge his toughness and how hard he competes, and that helps the rest of the team get up, he is a DAWG for sure, but at the end of the day he is still crazy and unreliable, and that will hurt the team. Ron is just not a good team player, and not a winner. DD
I don't think they will get anything out of him. I could have sworn Yao was a real loyal teammate and hated when guys got traded. I don't think Yao would be the right person to sit down and talk to.
DD you say you want someone that plays hard, in the system. That is tireless worker yet will defer to Yao at all times and tries to fall completely in line. This player must also be very good. So who is it you want? You have this wish list of characteristics (a list that anyone could makeup) but you cant name a player that would actually have these traits. The one guy youve said is Maggette. Maggette?? Are you kidding me?? Yeah because hes the perennial winner.. I thank GOD you are not GM...Your NBA2k9 lineup would get us destroyed... Oh and this is the best part: You do realize the same could be said of Yao right??? The problem with Artest is that we are clearly missing a piece. We need that guy whos talent is on par with Artest and Yao to be playing wing for us. His name used to be Tmac but we havent found the replacement yet. Artest goes into that crazy 'gotta score' mode because a) Yao is too soft to fight AND GET position b)scola/brooks/battier have all missed their last 5 open shot attempts.. He is simply playing 2 roles at once..His own, and that of Tmac's. But the one thing is you CANNOT question his effort nor his desire. Ill take that kind of player anyday.
Yeah he seems like the loyal type but they still should sit down and talk to him. I don't know how much that will accomplish but if he's the guy you are building around it would be good to hear his thoughts.
the reason artest will go off on his own is the lack of leadership. you don't have anyone to dictate the play. adelman doesn't do it. the near-rookie pg's don't do it. rafer tried to do it, but there wasn't that level of respect. this is why the best players need to be the team leaders, because they demand respect. tmac and yao don't do it. so if we can't get those pieces in players, get them in the form of a new coach. all that was said in this thread should wait until the offseason. i am willing to give adelman a run at the playoffs again. this time against a weaker, less experienced team in portland. see if he can pull off a round 1 win. but at the end of the day, adelman is just that type of coach, a players' coach that doesn't instill much of anything except freedom.
You know, we are all dealing with opinion here, but I go by what type of player they are and how would they fit in with other players on the team, primarily the key players like Yao etc. Ron does not, nor will he ever fit. He is a tough as nails competitor, but his lack of maturity and inability to control himself ultimatly is his downfall, every single year. That being the case, let's get more efficient players for him....sometimes it is not about individual talent but more about the fit that makes the overall team better. I think Maggette fits better, he is a better version of Von Wafer who attacks the basket and scores the ball in a highly efficient manner, and he draws fouls...all things that lead to a team's offensive success. Is he perfect, no, but he fits better than Ron does...IMO...and at the end of the day that is all that matters the team getting better. Ask yourself an honest question, and you may come up with a different answer than me. When Yao is fronted, who would you rather have with the ball on the wing in a position to attack the basket, Ron, or Maggette? I certainly can not, but his effort and desire are so high, that he sometimes ..check that...often times makes stupid decisions because he thinks he is better than he really is. Ron is a role player who thinks he is a superstar......and he is declining fast...he is NOT worth a contract that pays him more, his skills are declining, he should take a pay cut at best. DD PS. I agree about the leadership, said it before the season, it all came true.....and you can win with a true TEAM concept, but only with true TEAM players....Ron does not fit that bill.
I hate it when he starts jacking shots from the beyond the arc. He is not shooting well, he needs to take it to the basket. He is Ron Artest, he can be a man poses in the playoffs...
He is a horrid finisher, he only shoots .451% at the basket for the year....his post game sucks, and his finish sucks......some people just see his toughness. I see that, but I want efficiency.....is that too much to ask for? DD
DD, how did you feel about Maxwell in 93? 94? He was streaky shooter, got tons of technical fouls. etc. Who would you have 94 Maxwell or 09 Artest for this specific team?
There is nothing wrong with Artest. He thinks its his responsibility to try and be a HEALTHY T-Mac and take over the game in crunch time. There IS something wrong with the players and Adelman for not letting him know he just cannot do that. Somebody needs to take the damn ball out of his hands when they start to see that happening. If Yao could take his position in the post instead of letting the defense take him out of position this wouldn't be an issue. Artests' role would have been perfect if we had a HEALTHY T-Mac but we don't and now he's out of his element. If people don't realize how much we're going to miss a HEALTHY T-Mac by now, they will come playoff time. He was the only one on the team that would take his game to another level. Here's to hoping Yao is that guy this year.
His post game sucks because he tries to go through a double or triple team instead of making the right play and passing the ball. That in turn makes him a horrible finisher with a horrible shooting percentage. If his post game was really that bad why would they send help??? Well, they send it because he is too good and strong for anybody one on one.
