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Hope the Lakers Get him, we need Toughness
Rockets want him back, but Artest to weigh options
By Chris Duncan
Ron Artest was on his best behavior for the Houston Rockets this season. He was also a key contributor during their surprising run to the second round of the playoffs.
Both Artest and the team say they want to extend their relationship for another season, but the fiery forward also said he’ll weigh other options as a free agent.
“You take everything into consideration,” Artest said Tuesday, two days after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s hard to get into that right now, on what I’m thinking, as far as somebody making an offer I can’t refuse.
“It’s going on 48 hours (since the loss), so I really haven’t had time to think about it. I’m just trying to stay in the gym and just improving my game for next year.”
Artest signed a one-year, $8.45 million contract with Houston last summer. He was the Rockets’ second-leading scorer and became the second-best option after Tracy McGrady went out with a season-ending knee injury in February. Artest also brought some much needed toughness to the locker room and proved a reliable 1-on-1 defender.
The Rockets have about $40 million locked up in McGrady and center Yao Ming alone for next season, but general manager Daryl Morey said negotiating with Artest will be a high priority.
“It’s an important issue for him and us,” Morey said. “He brought a lot to this team this year. My job isn’t Ron Artest, my job isn’t who to trade, it’s how do I make the roster, as a whole, better? He can be a big part of that. We’ll see if we can work it out.”
Artest came to Houston still dragging a reputation as a troublemaker. He left Sacramento after a bitter contract dispute and he’ll always be remembered for his role in the infamous brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills that led to the longest suspension in NBA history.
The 29-year-old Artest said he can’t change who he is, but felt like he proved to skeptics that he could control his personality and be a valuable player. He says he’s matured and rediscovered his love for the game.
“I’m not out there trying to fool anybody,” Artest said. “But I think, every team I’ve played on since I was young, I’ve always been a leader, always been an asset. I’m trying to get that feel back, when I was playing and it wasn’t about money.
“Ever since I started making a lot of money playing basketball, that’s when things went wrong, and I kind of had to find myself,” he said. “I’ve been working on that part even more than my game, the mental part of it even more than my jumper and now it’s balancing out. As I continue to get better, the leadership will get better and then my game will rise right with it.”
One of the Rockets’ other main offseason concerns is the health of Yao, who broke his left foot early in the Lakers series. He won’t require surgery but will need 8-12 weeks to recover.
Yao is looking forward to a quieter summer than last year, when he rushed to recover from foot surgery to get ready for the Beijing Olympics. He’s not on the current roster of the Chinese national team and said he’ll stay in Houston for another month to make sure his foot heals properly.
“This summer will be a very special summer for me,” Yao said Tuesday. “It’s truly a summer that I don’t need to play (basketball) for any minutes. I’m not even on the list for our national team. It will help. Hopefully, I will not gain too much weight.”
Yao, the top overall draft pick in 2002, has one year left on his contract. Team owner Leslie Alexander said Yao is the only “untouchable” player on the roster and Morey said he’s ready to negotiate a contract extension.
“Yao is obviously the cornerstone of the franchise,” Morey said. “He had an unbelievable year until the big disappointment at the end. But he put in a full year, a very productive year.
“We’re always in constant conversation with him, about all issues. When we resolve things, we’ll announce it.”
Hope the Lakers Get him, we need Toughness
I also hope the Lakers get him.
Artest should find a $35 million/year deal in Greece and play in front of high school gyms in front of crowds of 3,000 people.
Next week he'll say he wants to retire a Rocket. And a week after that he'll demand a trade. We've seen all his antics in Sacramento.
the only reason he wants to stay a rocket the other teams that want him can only offer the MLE. its all about money. if the rockets downgrade the money he is gone
I'd like to see him go to Greece and have an owner not try to pay him.
Yeah, this would be amazing for the Lakers. Ariza will still probably be the cheaper option as Lamar is probably going to walk. That would be cool if Artest signed for cheap to play for a championship, something we all know he can't find in the state of Texas anymore.
You do realize I want that so the Lakers become a worst team right?
This pretty much tells you all you need to know about Artest.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/...-Pit-Bull.html
LOL, the Lakers aren't getting Artest. They have their own free agents to worry about. The only teams that can offer Artest more money than Houston are Memphis, Oklahoma City, and I believe the last city was Charlotte.
I don't know if the rockets should spend too much...in reality his only + is his at ude and leadership, his defense is so overhyped as well.
I'm calling it, when Rip comes to houston its all over.
Come to Dallas
Of course, I'm just undermining your lame Laker hate routine. If he would sign for cheap I'd take him over Ariza to keep Lamar in a heartbeat. That won't happen though so whatever, I think he'll stay in Houston.
Josh Howard for Ron Artest? Nope
Josh Howard for John Salmons? Nope
Josh Howard for Gerald Wallace? Nope
Josh Howard for Vince Carter? Nope
Pathetic front office.
The thing that MOST pisses me off about about J Howard is how selfish he is this season, does he have to pull up for a jumper on a fastbreak every time even if its a 3 on 1?
Come to Detroit Ron!
ugh, I found a blunt today and was so delighted. But I just smoked it and am barely high. I guess I'm high enough such that I'm not pissed about how weak my high is though.
Hi!
You don't lose Artest, then gain an aging Rip Hamilton that can't create his own shot... and then say its all over.
Which team can offer more than Houston, Memphis, Detroit, and Oklahoma City? If you said none, then you're correct. Now, which of those teams would Artest most likely sign to?
By the way, I'm sure Chinese endorsement deals factor in.
If Lakers get Artest than they have a chance to contend for a le again but if the roster stay the same than the Lakers have no chance next year, next year will be even harder and portland, houston and denver wont be easy in the west, i honestly dont think the Lakers would have won the series if they had played Portland.
Would Artest help the spurs? Would the spurs want artest? Would artest want to be a Spur?
Some Artest/Spurs conversation here:
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124716
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