Artest Interview
- Thread starter Kingzrool
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and a good one. I really recommend any kings fans who have been unsure (for better or worse) about artest to take some time reading it, and to hear about things from ron artest's perspective.
or we could just see him like how he smacked that headset to try to get it to work after that game this week
or we could just see him like how he smacked that headset to try to get it to work after that game this week
True but i have heard many writers from SI and ESPN and alot of "experts" in general say that artest is one of the few players in the game, maybe top 5 who is able to change a game. He is a top player in this league, top 7? no but he is GREAT and i dont have a problem with him saying that. As long as he continues to play unselfish basketball and takes good shots (which he does for the most part but no one will say) then i dont have a problem with him saying that.
I dont agree with it but its not completely crazy to say he is a top player, if he would have said that then that probably would have been better.
I dont agree with it but its not completely crazy to say he is a top player, if he would have said that then that probably would have been better.
I've heard Jerry Reynolds call Ron Artest one of the top 15 all-around players in the NBA several times in the past few years and top 5 in defense. Top 10, Top 7 - it's all subjective. There's no doubt he's in the top 10% of elite players in a league with ONLY about 385 total on all rosters. Most basketball experts (GM's, writers, etc.) agree he's NBA first team defense every year (or no worse than second team) along with names like Camby, Bowen, Duncan, plus a small handful of others. I thought the interview was revealing and reinforced a lot of what I already knew about Ron Artest. Mainly, that he's not as bad as generally portrayed.
I suspect many people won't read the whole article because there are too many words - a product of this generation. I think, though, that people who have a reflex reaction to the words "Ron Artest" should set aside some time and read it.
Then expand your minds a bit and remember that every basketball player has a story to tell, perhaps not all as intelligently as Ron, but they all have a story. They didn't suddenly appear fully formed and become NBA players. They all are determined, they all have sacrificed, and they all are very skilled.
As public figures, they can be trashed. That's part of what getting all that money earns.
We don't know them. I think what we really don't know is what motivates these guys and what got them to our team. Sadly, we don't even know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys because they all have been trained in how to respond to the media and they all say the same thing.
To me, Ron Artest is one of the good guys. Unfortunately, some times good guys do bad things. I don't want bad guys on the Kings. I want Artest on the Kings because he is good for the Kings. Some day, I'll write a lot more words of what I expect from Ron's behavior in the future. What we DO with Ron depends on what we expect from his behavior, isn't it?
Then expand your minds a bit and remember that every basketball player has a story to tell, perhaps not all as intelligently as Ron, but they all have a story. They didn't suddenly appear fully formed and become NBA players. They all are determined, they all have sacrificed, and they all are very skilled.
As public figures, they can be trashed. That's part of what getting all that money earns.
We don't know them. I think what we really don't know is what motivates these guys and what got them to our team. Sadly, we don't even know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys because they all have been trained in how to respond to the media and they all say the same thing.
To me, Ron Artest is one of the good guys. Unfortunately, some times good guys do bad things. I don't want bad guys on the Kings. I want Artest on the Kings because he is good for the Kings. Some day, I'll write a lot more words of what I expect from Ron's behavior in the future. What we DO with Ron depends on what we expect from his behavior, isn't it?
As a single player he is top 15. As a team player I think he is more around #30-50 or so. There are so many better team players out there than Artest.
You can take a team like USA Dream Team, and they lose to a bunch of no names because it seems that people select the good 1v1 players. You take a team of roleplayers who know what their role is on a team, and put thm against the world and the outcome would probably be better than the Dream Team (with the exception of the 1992 dream team).
You can take a team like USA Dream Team, and they lose to a bunch of no names because it seems that people select the good 1v1 players. You take a team of roleplayers who know what their role is on a team, and put thm against the world and the outcome would probably be better than the Dream Team (with the exception of the 1992 dream team).
I have a problem with this right here.
The interview was really good, and I appreciated the way that Ron was able to voice his opinion, though I disagree with some of the things he said. But, I didn't come from where he came from and I'm not where he is, so I'll defer to him.
But when you're talking about the brawl, what stands out to me is that he seems to think that, 1) he was the mature one in that situation because he tried to walk away from Wallace, and 2) his actions were somehow justified because someone threw beer on him.
I disagree on both counts. I know I'm generalizing, and there's a lot that can be said - and has been said - about the way that whole situation went down and played out. But I would rather hear Ron say that he's sorry he was a part of such tragic occurence, in fact, at the center of it, and leave it at that. I don't like to hear him try to shift the blame to "white boy Joe Green". That's irresponsible and immature, if you ask me.
I appreciate all the charity work he does, and what he's done to try to transform his public image, but I would feel a whole lot better if, even 3 years later, he would stand up and say "I was dead wrong, and there's absolutely no excuse for what I did", without bringing up Ben Wallace or the beer cup or anything else. Just take responsibility for it.
The interview was really good, and I appreciated the way that Ron was able to voice his opinion, though I disagree with some of the things he said. But, I didn't come from where he came from and I'm not where he is, so I'll defer to him.
But when you're talking about the brawl, what stands out to me is that he seems to think that, 1) he was the mature one in that situation because he tried to walk away from Wallace, and 2) his actions were somehow justified because someone threw beer on him.
I disagree on both counts. I know I'm generalizing, and there's a lot that can be said - and has been said - about the way that whole situation went down and played out. But I would rather hear Ron say that he's sorry he was a part of such tragic occurence, in fact, at the center of it, and leave it at that. I don't like to hear him try to shift the blame to "white boy Joe Green". That's irresponsible and immature, if you ask me.
I appreciate all the charity work he does, and what he's done to try to transform his public image, but I would feel a whole lot better if, even 3 years later, he would stand up and say "I was dead wrong, and there's absolutely no excuse for what I did", without bringing up Ben Wallace or the beer cup or anything else. Just take responsibility for it.
I've always had the same high hopes for Ron, and was one of the few people that when all that stuff went down with his dogs and wife last year, didnt jump on the 'trade Crazy Ron' bandwagon. Ron has matured so much since he has been here, and now we're seeing the fruit from taking the chance on him...Ron is good for the Kings, period.
edit: was a very good interview, btw
edit: was a very good interview, btw
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both good and bad things were said in that interview...and none of that being "real" bad things, but some retarded things said.
Many contradictions as well.
But, the respect is and always will be there for Ron. I still do not think he should be on this team if we want Martin to improve and become a bona fide star.
Many contradictions as well.
But, the respect is and always will be there for Ron. I still do not think he should be on this team if we want Martin to improve and become a bona fide star.
Interesting thought...but I still do think that Ron should be on this team, and he's a big reason that Kevin has been on the steady incline that he has been on the past 2 years. Kevin averaging 25 pts is probably about his ceiling, as far as his scoring average goes, but who knows. Kevin Martin is comparable to Rip Hamilton, that isnt bad, but he isnt Michael Jordan, Dale Ellis or Reggie Miller, that being said.
I like Ron Artest's interview from the win against Milwaukee when he was being interviewed. He said something to the extent of,
Our record does not reflect the talent on the team. We've had players missing games etc. "We're one of the better teams in the league and we've got to go out and prove it"
I like Ron's positive attitude. I personally don't think the Kings are one of the better teams in the league but I know for sure they have to go out and prove it. Interesting to read most of what Artest has to say, He's obviously much different than his image.
Our record does not reflect the talent on the team. We've had players missing games etc. "We're one of the better teams in the league and we've got to go out and prove it"
I like Ron's positive attitude. I personally don't think the Kings are one of the better teams in the league but I know for sure they have to go out and prove it. Interesting to read most of what Artest has to say, He's obviously much different than his image.
