Kingster
Hall of Famer
Suspended, then defended
Kings management says the troubled forward is making progress and is a key 2007-08 component.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:48 am PDT Sunday, July 15, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- The community service jobs have varied, from garbage man on a smelly truck in Sacramento to touching up local buildings with fresh paint.
The legal circumstances being what they are, Ron Artest has no choice but to take direction.
"We'll work from like 7 (a.m.) to 2:30 (p.m.)," Artest said while attending the NBA Summer League recently. "They just move us around, and wherever they tell us to go and whatever they tell us to do, we do."
The same goes for what he can't do. After Artest was arrested in March and charged on four counts of misdemeanor domestic violence, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. The long-awaited hammer from the NBA came Saturday, when the league announced Artest's seven-game suspension that will be served without pay at the start of the 2007-08 season.
But not until recently did it become likely that Artest will start that season with the Kings.
Trading Artest is not the priority it once seemed, Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie has made it known, and the executive is of the belief that the latest circumstances facing Artest may be setting him up for a productive and controversy-free year.
"I know he's working on the other things in his life that he has to deal with now, his probation, (anger-management) counseling and this upcoming suspension, but I think his focus (next season) will be on basketball and trying to have a good year," Petrie said. "Coming into this year, I think he understands the consequences of the past and I think he's going to come back and have a real good year."
The malnourished dog saga in February and a woeful Kings season added to what became a year of more strife than success, and meant that the legacy -- as he called it -- was in shambles again.
But the fixing, Artest said, has begun anew.
His family life is back in order, Artest said. He is back with his wife, Kimsha, though his children will attend school in Indiana this fall.
That's where Artest and his family spent most of the summer, living in the Zionsville home he had while playing for the Pacers.
Artest is currently in Africa as part of the NBA Players Association's "Feeding One Million" campaign, a charity program that is distributing 11 million pounds of rice to impoverished residents of slums in Kawangware, Kibera and Dagoretti. Artest -- one of four NBA players taking part -- has been there since Thursday and will return this coming Thursday.
Artest has also lessened his involvement in his rap career. He stepped down as the virtual president of his Tru Warier record label and is interviewing candidates with more music industry experience for the position.
The underlying influence is the re-realization that basketball needs to be the priority. At 27, Artest has eight seasons behind him but an average of just 59 games played per season because of suspensions. Lost amid the off-court issues -- once again -- is the reality that he remains the rare player with an ability to dominate on both ends of the court.
The calling-card skills rarely surfaced last season. Although Artest had the best statistical season of his career and was second in the league in steals, he rarely wowed onlookers with suffocating defense and was often a large part of the team's on-floor chemistry issues. He said there was much more to it, as a back injury suffered early in the season lingered until late December and affected his play.
"I had to get a chiropractor who said my fourth disc in my back was out of socket, and once I put it back in the socket with the chiropractor, I was averaging 20-plus, 50 percent (shooting), 40 percent from threes," Artest said. "Everybody said there was nothing wrong, nothing we could do. I think our season would've been much better.
"I couldn't jump. I couldn't rebound anymore. ... It screwed up everything."
While trade talks have quieted for the moment and Artest is content to remain with the Kings, he no longer seems concerned about controlling every aspect of his fate. If a trade happened, Artest said, "I wouldn't cry. I'd go out and have a great damn season."
It's a stark contrast to the last time trade rumors swirled around Artest while in Indiana. He reacted to an inaccurate report of Kings-Pacers talks by demanding a trade soon thereafter.
"If I would've never did what I did, I would never have been traded to Sacramento," Artest said. "I regret that because I loved Indiana, and I regret doing what I did to Indiana. We would've been a championship team."
That much, at least, has remained steady. Artest is known for his hyperbole title talk, boasting about championship runs no matter for which team he plays.
"I don't care if Quincy Douby is our center, we're winning the title," Artest said.
The attitude is reflected on e-mails coming from his rap publicist, with the signature at the bottom reading "2008 NBA Champions" with no team name attached. Petrie laughed at Artest's Douby reference, saying, "I'd much prefer an eternal optimist over someone who's negative. What do people like that accomplish?"
With all signs indicating Artest's team will remain the Kings, he said he has expressed his intentions to his new coach, Reggie Theus. He believes Theus is the right man to lead the effort.
"He's going to be a hell of a coach," Artest said. "He played the (shooting guard position), so he had the ball. He saw the game, saw what was happening in the game. He averaged 20 points before, so he knows. He was an All-Star. He's focused."
The Kings hope Artest can remain the same.
"I think he's really focused on coming back and having a terrific all-around season," Petrie said. "He's going to miss his first seven games, but after that I think he'll be ready to roll."
www.sacbee.com/100/story/273771.html
Kings management says the troubled forward is making progress and is a key 2007-08 component.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:48 am PDT Sunday, July 15, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- The community service jobs have varied, from garbage man on a smelly truck in Sacramento to touching up local buildings with fresh paint.
The legal circumstances being what they are, Ron Artest has no choice but to take direction.
"We'll work from like 7 (a.m.) to 2:30 (p.m.)," Artest said while attending the NBA Summer League recently. "They just move us around, and wherever they tell us to go and whatever they tell us to do, we do."
The same goes for what he can't do. After Artest was arrested in March and charged on four counts of misdemeanor domestic violence, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. The long-awaited hammer from the NBA came Saturday, when the league announced Artest's seven-game suspension that will be served without pay at the start of the 2007-08 season.
But not until recently did it become likely that Artest will start that season with the Kings.
Trading Artest is not the priority it once seemed, Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie has made it known, and the executive is of the belief that the latest circumstances facing Artest may be setting him up for a productive and controversy-free year.
"I know he's working on the other things in his life that he has to deal with now, his probation, (anger-management) counseling and this upcoming suspension, but I think his focus (next season) will be on basketball and trying to have a good year," Petrie said. "Coming into this year, I think he understands the consequences of the past and I think he's going to come back and have a real good year."
The malnourished dog saga in February and a woeful Kings season added to what became a year of more strife than success, and meant that the legacy -- as he called it -- was in shambles again.
But the fixing, Artest said, has begun anew.
His family life is back in order, Artest said. He is back with his wife, Kimsha, though his children will attend school in Indiana this fall.
That's where Artest and his family spent most of the summer, living in the Zionsville home he had while playing for the Pacers.
Artest is currently in Africa as part of the NBA Players Association's "Feeding One Million" campaign, a charity program that is distributing 11 million pounds of rice to impoverished residents of slums in Kawangware, Kibera and Dagoretti. Artest -- one of four NBA players taking part -- has been there since Thursday and will return this coming Thursday.
Artest has also lessened his involvement in his rap career. He stepped down as the virtual president of his Tru Warier record label and is interviewing candidates with more music industry experience for the position.
The underlying influence is the re-realization that basketball needs to be the priority. At 27, Artest has eight seasons behind him but an average of just 59 games played per season because of suspensions. Lost amid the off-court issues -- once again -- is the reality that he remains the rare player with an ability to dominate on both ends of the court.
The calling-card skills rarely surfaced last season. Although Artest had the best statistical season of his career and was second in the league in steals, he rarely wowed onlookers with suffocating defense and was often a large part of the team's on-floor chemistry issues. He said there was much more to it, as a back injury suffered early in the season lingered until late December and affected his play.
"I had to get a chiropractor who said my fourth disc in my back was out of socket, and once I put it back in the socket with the chiropractor, I was averaging 20-plus, 50 percent (shooting), 40 percent from threes," Artest said. "Everybody said there was nothing wrong, nothing we could do. I think our season would've been much better.
"I couldn't jump. I couldn't rebound anymore. ... It screwed up everything."
While trade talks have quieted for the moment and Artest is content to remain with the Kings, he no longer seems concerned about controlling every aspect of his fate. If a trade happened, Artest said, "I wouldn't cry. I'd go out and have a great damn season."
It's a stark contrast to the last time trade rumors swirled around Artest while in Indiana. He reacted to an inaccurate report of Kings-Pacers talks by demanding a trade soon thereafter.
"If I would've never did what I did, I would never have been traded to Sacramento," Artest said. "I regret that because I loved Indiana, and I regret doing what I did to Indiana. We would've been a championship team."
That much, at least, has remained steady. Artest is known for his hyperbole title talk, boasting about championship runs no matter for which team he plays.
"I don't care if Quincy Douby is our center, we're winning the title," Artest said.
The attitude is reflected on e-mails coming from his rap publicist, with the signature at the bottom reading "2008 NBA Champions" with no team name attached. Petrie laughed at Artest's Douby reference, saying, "I'd much prefer an eternal optimist over someone who's negative. What do people like that accomplish?"
With all signs indicating Artest's team will remain the Kings, he said he has expressed his intentions to his new coach, Reggie Theus. He believes Theus is the right man to lead the effort.
"He's going to be a hell of a coach," Artest said. "He played the (shooting guard position), so he had the ball. He saw the game, saw what was happening in the game. He averaged 20 points before, so he knows. He was an All-Star. He's focused."
The Kings hope Artest can remain the same.
"I think he's really focused on coming back and having a terrific all-around season," Petrie said. "He's going to miss his first seven games, but after that I think he'll be ready to roll."
www.sacbee.com/100/story/273771.html
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