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The agent has been saying all along that he hoped Ron would stay. I think Indy is just sick of him at this point, and he will be moved.
At least according to his agent
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story.asp?id=147303
The agent has been saying all along that he hoped Ron would stay. I think Indy is just sick of him at this point, and he will be moved.
The Pacers are putting Artest on the Inactive List for the time being.
ESPN.com
By Marc Stein
Dec 16, 2005
Link: ESPN
SPECIAL WEEKEND EDITION
You have to be a dice-roller, a certifiable risk-taker, to make a sincere run at the most tantalizing undependable talent since Micheal Ray Richardson.
You have to be more than that, actually.
To trust enough in Ron Artest to trade for him?
You have to be desperate, too.
That's why the Indiana Pacers, despite trading dialogue with at least two-thirds of the league's 30 teams, are still trying to close an actual Artest trade.
Yet desperation is also why the Los Angeles Lakers, more than any other team in the league, make the most sense as an Artest destination.
Don't be fooled by the Lakers' outstanding recent road trip. A 5-1 swing through some tough towns doesn't change the fact that L.A. doesn't have a second franchise player closer to Kobe Bryant's level and lacks an obvious route to find one.
The Lakers' plan to sock away salary-cap room for the summer of 2007 (or later) was always a prayer. Now that Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire have signed long-term extensions to stay in Houston and Phoenix, to the surprise of pretty much no one, they're faced with the prospect of waiting until the summer of 2008 on Toronto's Chris Bosh.
Or they can try to be daring now and explore every conceivable option for assembling a three-way trade that gets Artest. The Pacers' new-millennium answer to Dennis Rodman wants to go home and play for the Knicks, but what could be more ideal than landing on the opposite coast? I can't think of a coach with a better chance of keeping Artest on the floor than Phil Jackson.
This would probably be even tougher for Phil than handling Rodman, without Michael Jordan to help with the policing, but the payoff is arguably greater because Artest is a better all-around player. And Jackson, not surprisingly, is already a big fan. The Lakers, according to NBA front-office sources, made inquiries into Artest's availability in the summertime shortly after the Zenmeister unretired. Those advances were rebuffed, but, as you might have heard, there has been a bit of a re-think in Indy.
The Lakers' problem now is that, even though the Pacers are suddenly prepared to part with Artest, they don't have the pieces Indy wants ... even if they were willing to include Lamar Odom. Indiana would prefer to ship Artest to the West, yes, but it prefers more to take back a quality youngster (preferably still on his rookie contract, a la New York's Channing Frye) packaged with a short (or, better yet, expiring) contract.
The Lakers actually have plenty of attractive lower-end contracts, starting with Devean George making $5 million in the last year of his deal, but don't have that shining young gun to tempt the Pacers. That's why L.A. would need to pull at least one more team into such a trade.
It's about as big as NBA gambles come, of course, but let's face it: Lakers owner Jerry Buss isn't afraid of those. He's the guy, remember, who ordered his general manager, Mitch Kupchak, to trade Shaquille O'Neal. With no guarantee that Bryant would then re-sign.
So ...
The Lakers have already proven that they're the sort of franchise that would sign up for this challenge. And if there's a more desperate team out there -- taking into account not only the current landscape and long-range prospects but also the level they're expected to play at -- I don't see it. Laker fans, at Laker ticket prices, aren't going to accept a rebuilding project for long, even if the team is unexpectedly churning out gutty road trips.
Every team on the NBA map is obliged to consider the possibility of making a bid when the game's best two-way perimeter player becomes available. That said, a top-15 player who can't stay on the court is not really a top-15 player.
The Pacers have decided to move on because they're no longer prepared to live with the "What Next?" fear Artest injects into the locker room. The overwhelming majority of Indiana's rivals will pass in fear of infecting their locker rooms.
Artest will be traded, Indy must be sick of him by now
You're not surprised are you?
Too late.
that proves it. he is MENTAL
good now teams will not offer as much for him
Artest is still a re .
no, he's psychopath, maybe a crack baby.
they should just keep him inactive until his contract expires. teach that er a lesson.
Artest for Beno and Nazr
since Artest's value has lessened
wow artest is a stupid
thats what i was thinking
His teamates all hate his ass now, i can not see him playing for them again. This is just like Terell Owens, he lost all trust in the locker room and they do not want him around anymore.
Where are the bright minds that want this nutcase as a Spur?
i wouldn't call him a baby.
artest = WMD
he destroys everything he touches.
that one is a classic
he acts like one
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