Indazone
08-22-2009, 11:02 PM
Oh when will the attention whoring stop Ron?
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/08/22/ron-artest-is-angry-at-the-rockets/#cont
The NBA's offseason goes on far too long for the league's die-hard fans, but the latest craze of its athletes sharing their most intimate thoughts via Twitter is helping to keep us connected. And, in the case of Ron Artest, we're also getting a preview of what to expect once the season does finally begin at the end of October.
The latest from Ron-Ron -- who you may remember from such stunts as giving his cell phone number out to the general public -- is that he's not at all happy with the way things ended with the Rockets. Specifically, he claims that they "did him dirty" by "messing up" his Bird rights, and because of this, he plans on carrying out a vendetta against them as long as he's in the league.
Over two separate Twitter dispatches, Artest explains why he's upset.
"Houston did me dirty. I can't wait til next year when we go to Houston. I'm not shooting. All defense. Somebody getting locked da f**k up."
"I still feel blessed but they messed up my bird rights. So it's on as long as I'm in the league."
Now of course, we all love imaginary reasons for players to feud with other teams. Who can forget the entertainment value of Gilbert Arenas' revenge tour of the 2006-07 season? But the issue that Artest raises as the basis for his future actions on the court against the Rockets really doesn't seem to be one that's all that legitimate.
Without going into too much detail about the rules of the salary cap (because I don't want to give myself a headache), a player acquires "Bird rights" after playing for three seasons without being waived, or changing teams as a free agent. These rights are basically a salary cap exception, and allow for a 10.5 percent raise in the first season of a new deal. They also allow a team to exceed the salary cap to sign its own free agents.
Artest had these rights in Houston, and had the Rockets done a sign-and-trade with the Lakers (for Trevor Ariza, maybe?), he would continue to have them in Los Angeles. Since he left as a free agent, though, the "clock" resets, and he'll have to play three years on his current deal to earn them again.
But in Artest's current situation with the Lakers, it seems like a moot point.
Artest signed a five-year deal to play in Los Angeles, and actually did so for less than he made in his one season in Houston. Since he isn't going to be a free agent until he regains his Bird rights, those rights are somewhat useless to him right now. Especially considering that the team is well over the cap at the moment anyway -- so much so that team owner Jerry Buss was willing to let Lamar Odom walk if Odom didn't lower his asking price.
So is Artest justified in holding a grudge against his former team, and threatening some sort of revenge against them for all of this? Of course not. But anytime a player goes on the record as saying "it's on" against another team, you can guarantee we'll all be watching a little more closely.
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/08/22/ron-artest-is-angry-at-the-rockets/#cont
The NBA's offseason goes on far too long for the league's die-hard fans, but the latest craze of its athletes sharing their most intimate thoughts via Twitter is helping to keep us connected. And, in the case of Ron Artest, we're also getting a preview of what to expect once the season does finally begin at the end of October.
The latest from Ron-Ron -- who you may remember from such stunts as giving his cell phone number out to the general public -- is that he's not at all happy with the way things ended with the Rockets. Specifically, he claims that they "did him dirty" by "messing up" his Bird rights, and because of this, he plans on carrying out a vendetta against them as long as he's in the league.
Over two separate Twitter dispatches, Artest explains why he's upset.
"Houston did me dirty. I can't wait til next year when we go to Houston. I'm not shooting. All defense. Somebody getting locked da f**k up."
"I still feel blessed but they messed up my bird rights. So it's on as long as I'm in the league."
Now of course, we all love imaginary reasons for players to feud with other teams. Who can forget the entertainment value of Gilbert Arenas' revenge tour of the 2006-07 season? But the issue that Artest raises as the basis for his future actions on the court against the Rockets really doesn't seem to be one that's all that legitimate.
Without going into too much detail about the rules of the salary cap (because I don't want to give myself a headache), a player acquires "Bird rights" after playing for three seasons without being waived, or changing teams as a free agent. These rights are basically a salary cap exception, and allow for a 10.5 percent raise in the first season of a new deal. They also allow a team to exceed the salary cap to sign its own free agents.
Artest had these rights in Houston, and had the Rockets done a sign-and-trade with the Lakers (for Trevor Ariza, maybe?), he would continue to have them in Los Angeles. Since he left as a free agent, though, the "clock" resets, and he'll have to play three years on his current deal to earn them again.
But in Artest's current situation with the Lakers, it seems like a moot point.
Artest signed a five-year deal to play in Los Angeles, and actually did so for less than he made in his one season in Houston. Since he isn't going to be a free agent until he regains his Bird rights, those rights are somewhat useless to him right now. Especially considering that the team is well over the cap at the moment anyway -- so much so that team owner Jerry Buss was willing to let Lamar Odom walk if Odom didn't lower his asking price.
So is Artest justified in holding a grudge against his former team, and threatening some sort of revenge against them for all of this? Of course not. But anytime a player goes on the record as saying "it's on" against another team, you can guarantee we'll all be watching a little more closely.