ESPN: Artest Requesting Trade, Representing Himself
- Thread starter nbrans
- Start date
A
i was using that as an example of what we would have had if we hadnt traded webber... but my argument is still the same. no one was mad that he was traded, it was what we received in the trade that has kings fans pissed.... and if im not mistaken webber palyed in every game leading up to the trade, had 3 triple doubles right before the trade and was averaging 21/9.7/5... he could have been traded during the offseason... with webber the sonics would have been a breeze in the 1st round... but thats another "if" that never happened.
What truth is that, which is as big as a billboard? Please tell me as directly as possible because I don't know what you are referring to. Is it that Ron needs to be traded? That's a matter of opinion. Is it that Ron will be traded? That seems inevitable but I'm not denying that. Is it that Ron is crazy? If that's the case I continue to disagree because, in my opinion, nobody here is properly equipped to make judgements about the character of Ron's intelligence or sanity and presuming otherwise is willfully ignorant. Not that willful ignorance isn't out of character with sportsfandom in general, but in this case I find it alarmingly one-sided.
This isn't even about me liking Ron Artest as a player anymore, or supporting him as a person. Every time the guy says or does something this message board (and by extension the sports media in general) overreacts to hilarious proportions. And this latest episode is particularly absurd because he hasn't said or done anything irrational or unexplainable. He simply said that he wants to play for a team that plans to keep him around instead of one that's looking to ship him out as soon as it becomes advantageous to do so. It's a particularly naive sports fan kind of ignorance to think that players are playing for your home team because they like the city or the people living there. Everybody who plays for the Kings has done so either because they got paid or because they liked the personnel on this team at that point in time and made a commitment to sticking with them, or both. That's why this whole "Ron doesn't want to be here, we need him gone" attitude is hilarious. He did want to be here, but the front office in their "infinite wisdom" has decided they didn't want him.
And lastly, as much as you all continue to deny it, it's become clear that nobody really gave Ron Artest a clean slate when he came to Sacramento. It's been two and a half years of "tick, tick, tick" comments and "Ron being Ron" oversimplifications. People were quick to jump on Ron over the dog issue, and after the fact when his personal culpability was dismissed, the legal blame was gone but the "uh oh, what's he done this time?" suspicion never faded. And that's how it's always been for Ron. Everything he says or does is reinterpreted as further proof of his mental imbalance. You can say you gave him a clean slate as much as you want, but everything else you say about him says otherwise. The general perception of Ron Artest as an inner-city thug who will pick a fight with anyone to defend his honor or as a simple-minded street kid who lacks the intelligence to control his fists or his mouth is fallacious and, as much as people overreact to this word, racist. Yes it is a racist perception because it grows more out of a (racially motivated) stereotype than actual reality. And that stereotype will always characterize Ron Artest for most people regardless of what he does because perception controls reality. So it's always Ron Artest the crazy-person. What about Ron Artest the humanitarian? Ron Artest the good teammate? Ron Artest the fallible human being? Or maybe Ron Artest, all of the above. That's a notion that is too complex for your average casual sports fan, so people pick "crazy" and don't allow for Ron to be anything else.
So apparently the new hobby for Kings fans this summer is constructing elaborate trade scenarios for Ron Artest to get the best "value" out of your "trading chips". For Ron's sake, I hope he is traded as soon as possible so this ridiculous charade can be over. I've always sortof floated around the periphery of communities like this anyway because I disagree with the general idea of sportsfandom in general. I don't think winning is everything, I don't believe in supporting one team no matter what, I don't believe in the macho spirit of competition that sporting events tend to bring out in people, and I think the players themselves are more interesting as individuals off the court than as numbers on it. But I do like having a place to express my thoughts about recent games from time to time and seeing how other people react to the same things I see. I tend to take a contrarian stance on most issues in general, asking myself why people react one way or the other and whether there might be other points of view, and that doesn't make me very popular. Does that make me blind? I don't think so. In most cases I see the same things that everyone else sees, I just try my best to see them with different eyes. And that's what really determines the "truth" for us anyway. Not what is actually there, but the eyes we use to see it.
This isn't even about me liking Ron Artest as a player anymore, or supporting him as a person. Every time the guy says or does something this message board (and by extension the sports media in general) overreacts to hilarious proportions. And this latest episode is particularly absurd because he hasn't said or done anything irrational or unexplainable. He simply said that he wants to play for a team that plans to keep him around instead of one that's looking to ship him out as soon as it becomes advantageous to do so. It's a particularly naive sports fan kind of ignorance to think that players are playing for your home team because they like the city or the people living there. Everybody who plays for the Kings has done so either because they got paid or because they liked the personnel on this team at that point in time and made a commitment to sticking with them, or both. That's why this whole "Ron doesn't want to be here, we need him gone" attitude is hilarious. He did want to be here, but the front office in their "infinite wisdom" has decided they didn't want him.
And lastly, as much as you all continue to deny it, it's become clear that nobody really gave Ron Artest a clean slate when he came to Sacramento. It's been two and a half years of "tick, tick, tick" comments and "Ron being Ron" oversimplifications. People were quick to jump on Ron over the dog issue, and after the fact when his personal culpability was dismissed, the legal blame was gone but the "uh oh, what's he done this time?" suspicion never faded. And that's how it's always been for Ron. Everything he says or does is reinterpreted as further proof of his mental imbalance. You can say you gave him a clean slate as much as you want, but everything else you say about him says otherwise. The general perception of Ron Artest as an inner-city thug who will pick a fight with anyone to defend his honor or as a simple-minded street kid who lacks the intelligence to control his fists or his mouth is fallacious and, as much as people overreact to this word, racist. Yes it is a racist perception because it grows more out of a (racially motivated) stereotype than actual reality. And that stereotype will always characterize Ron Artest for most people regardless of what he does because perception controls reality. So it's always Ron Artest the crazy-person. What about Ron Artest the humanitarian? Ron Artest the good teammate? Ron Artest the fallible human being? Or maybe Ron Artest, all of the above. That's a notion that is too complex for your average casual sports fan, so people pick "crazy" and don't allow for Ron to be anything else.
So apparently the new hobby for Kings fans this summer is constructing elaborate trade scenarios for Ron Artest to get the best "value" out of your "trading chips". For Ron's sake, I hope he is traded as soon as possible so this ridiculous charade can be over. I've always sortof floated around the periphery of communities like this anyway because I disagree with the general idea of sportsfandom in general. I don't think winning is everything, I don't believe in supporting one team no matter what, I don't believe in the macho spirit of competition that sporting events tend to bring out in people, and I think the players themselves are more interesting as individuals off the court than as numbers on it. But I do like having a place to express my thoughts about recent games from time to time and seeing how other people react to the same things I see. I tend to take a contrarian stance on most issues in general, asking myself why people react one way or the other and whether there might be other points of view, and that doesn't make me very popular. Does that make me blind? I don't think so. In most cases I see the same things that everyone else sees, I just try my best to see them with different eyes. And that's what really determines the "truth" for us anyway. Not what is actually there, but the eyes we use to see it.
The talk in Las Vegas continues to be about the future of Ron Artest. Dallas reportedly has had internal discussions about the Kings Power Forward and may be willing to part with their own forward, Josh Howard, to get him.
SI.com
If Sacramento were to make the trade Artest and center Brad Miller -- though their salaries exceed Marion's -- it would be more attractive to the heat who would like to get a center and a point guard.
Miami Herald
SI.com
If Sacramento were to make the trade Artest and center Brad Miller -- though their salaries exceed Marion's -- it would be more attractive to the heat who would like to get a center and a point guard.
Miami Herald
Brad is useful, Kenny is not. I think Petrie should hold firm to sending KT with Artest wherever he goes. Brad is still servicable. I'd rather have that contract for 1-2 years, than Kenny Thomas's, even though Miller is paid a bit more.
(Random Thought)
If Kenny Thomas and Ron Artest were part of the 7 dwarfs they would be grumpy and.....bi-polar.
(Random Thought)
If Kenny Thomas and Ron Artest were part of the 7 dwarfs they would be grumpy and.....bi-polar.