This is a very intriguing move to say the least. With McGrady, Artest and Battier all playing the same position having a glut at the SF position. If it stays as is, they will be a very dangerous team. I think that McGrady may be on the move possibly, or that's trying to find a lot of PT for these 3. Check out the article: Hoopsworld The Houston Rockets have reportedly reached an agreement with the Sacramento Kings that will land Ron Artest in Houston. According to published reports the Rockets will send Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, a first round pick in the 2009 NBA draft, and cash amounting to around $1 million to the Kings for the storied forward. If Greene is, indeed, involved in the deal then it won't be able to officially take place until August 14th, which is a month from the day he signed with the Rockets. League rules dictate that a player can't be traded for 30 days after signing. A source with knowledge of the trade told HOOPSWORLD that the timeline for the deal is "about right," which would seem to confirm Greene's involvement. Another variation of the trade could include Joey Dorsey, who has not yet been signed by the Rockets, and thus could be involved in a sign-and-trade at any time. Ron Artest has had a storied NBA career, and not all of the stories have been good. He's had the positives of being Defensive Player of the Year and establishing himself as a premier defender, and he's had the negative of off-the-court issues . . .and involvement in the infamous brawl between the Pistons and Pacers. Artest shook off much of that negativity when he landed in Sacramento, where he and then-coach Rick Adelman found success together. Now the Rockets are hoping Adelman can inspire that kind of success from Artest once again in Houston. More than anything the Rockets needed a third scoring option to help spread the burden around. They needed a player who could create his own shot, hit the three or drive to the hole, and also play top-notch defense on the perimeter. There are few players who embody all of those attributes as well as Artest. The Houston Rockets have served notice: they expect to be contenders in 2008-09.
Its a good move for them. Low risk since Artest has one more year left and even if he loses focus this year they still have Battier to take over. I believe T-Mac is their SG.
Looks like the Yao-Artest relationship isn't exactly starting well: Not that I would ever expect sanity from Artest, but I didn't expect him to talk about the brawl by saying "I'd do exactly the same thing all over again," which--correct if I'm wrong--is precisely what he's saying.
The SacBee article suggests that the deal could fall through. I like how Artest says that Yao believes "all the propaganda" about him. Apparently Yao is too stupid to think for himself.
I think, Ron has made another "favor" to himself: instead of welcoming ćhance to get PO team, he makes some stupid comments and Houston says probably "no way".
That's what I was thinking. He's more of a 2. When Yao isn't playing, he's the 1, the 2, the 3, the 4 and the 5.
"With McGrady, Artest and Battier all playing the same position having a glut at the SF position." Their lineup looks like this: Alston/Francis/Brooks T-Mac/Barry/Head Artest/Battie Scola/Laundry/Hayes Yao/Motumbo Ours: Billups/Stuckey/Bynum Hamilton/Afflalo Prince/Sharpe/Hermann Wallace/Maxiel Brown/McDyess/Johnson Who's looks better? Rockets or Pistons
Rockets look like the best team in the league on paper. Artest and Yao are already in a tiff though. So who knows?
Don't look at the answers without seeing the question. All is not that bad in Houston: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9648
Artest doesn't need Yao's help to make him look bad. The slip up was more in the way that Artest responded. The bottom line is that his new teammates are probably excited to have a talented guy like him as a teammate, but fearful that he will be a distraction.
Yao should just say stuff like this. "If Artest becomes a problem, I will stuff his face with a knuckleball sandwich, I'm Jackie Chan, you know it!"
I'm still ticked lpgrl didn't get me Artest's cellie #. I would have cranked him every day this summer, and now I would be doing Yao Ming voices.
