Breaking: Artest Traded to Houston
- Thread starter Kingsroots
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Assuming it is Greene, Jackson, and a future 1st (whatever year) for Artest (and maybe another player like Douby, I guess) I like this deal. Getting rid of Artest in the offseason is a boon to the team on it's own. Having Bobby return for a year is just fine, and I am glad to see him as a King again in a reserve role. Don't know much about Greene, but he's a promising big, so it's all good. And I don't care when the 1st rounder is - next year, the year after, it's all good.
I did a few fist pumps in the car when I heard about this.
I wish Ron and Rick all the best and hope Ron can pull his act together. Houston is now indeed formidable when healthy. Good luck to them, except when playing the Kings, of course!
Welcome back Bobby! We are, "most definitely", very glad to have you back.
I did a few fist pumps in the car when I heard about this.
I wish Ron and Rick all the best and hope Ron can pull his act together. Houston is now indeed formidable when healthy. Good luck to them, except when playing the Kings, of course!
Welcome back Bobby! We are, "most definitely", very glad to have you back.
Koz on his show just made a good point that's been out there forever: Single most surprising thing in the deal is Kenny Thomas not part of the package. Obviously, GP tried desperately to make that reality in any Artest deal. Maybe the next deal to go with Rad Miller? Oh well, Artest is GONE.
Sam Amick on live in a few minutes on Sports1140 w/ Koz (I think he said that)
Sam Amick on live in a few minutes on Sports1140 w/ Koz (I think he said that)
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One man's "versatile" is another man's "tweener." Undersized PFs who play mostly from the perimeter aren't really my cup of tea, so I think of him as a SF. And I'm okay with him as a poor man's Rashard Lewis, there are just other things I'd have put a little higher on the priority list. A late first rounder isn't necessarily going to get you a very good player, but you can go any way you want with it.
Willing to wait and see, though. He's still a bit of a project, so there's room for me to be pleasantly surprised.
Willing to wait and see, though. He's still a bit of a project, so there's room for me to be pleasantly surprised.
something id be warey of if i were the Rockets is Artest role on the team.....Artest was the leader and thats the way Ron likes it...he lives for having the ball at the end of games and sinkin the wining shots. With the Rockets this may not be the case. McGrady is the one who they go to, some may say "it just gives them a second option". Yeah thats true, except as soon as Artest costs the Rockets 2 or 3 games with his greed they are gonna revert back to McGrady in crucial situations, and Ron aint gonna like that. So we'll see how it pans out. Im startin to like this trade a little more from our point of view. I need to see Donte Green in action thoe, i have no knowledge of him watsoever other than his 40 point performance which i still havn't seen with my own eyes. Actually i dont even know what position he plays.
I don't think it ever had to be a part of any possible deal, just that in deals where there was a salary discrepancy of several million between Artest and Player X, then KT was the preferred Player Y. Unfortunately, in several of the proposed deals, the only "value" was getting rid of KT a year early, which really made no difference on the court either now or in the future.
I'm not a big fan of Greene, but he does have good size, solid athleticism (not great), and good range. So I think he can be a solid role player with a poor man's shard type potential. He's likely to be a liability on the defensive end, he needs to work on his mid range game and on his shot selection.
I have no idea if I want to ink him in as our SF of the future either, but the good thing about him is that he's already increased his perceived value around the league quite a bit from the day he was drafted. Of course those Summer League games tend to make any athletic wing who can move with the ball (see Anthony Randolph) look really good, so we'll have to see. I'm okay with him becoming either a player or a commodity for us.
It's official! (As in the announcement).Just saw on ESPN that it's going to be Bobby Jackson,Donte Green and a 1st rounder in 2009 + cash in excess of 1 million for Ron Artest. Yahoo!!! Rebuilding mode here we come! Welcome back Bobby!
Green Growing as a Rocket
by Dave McMenamen
LAS VEGAS, July 19, 2008 -- Before the Rockets’ summer league game against the Nuggets on Friday, Houston rookie Donté Greene was engaged in a playful game of one-on-one with a ball boy that couldn’t have been more than 13-years old. The 6-11, 226-pound manchild is only 20-years old himself and looked just as joyful to be playing with the kid as the kid was to be mixing it up with a legitimate professional basketball player.
When the game started and Greene was matched up with five-year NBA veteran Dahntay Jones, Donté took on the role of the ball boy while Dahntay looked delighted to be carving up Greene and the Rockets’ defense like the guy who cuts the roast beef under the heat lamp in a Vegas buffet line.
Jones, with 246 regular season games under his belt, as opposed to Greene’s three summer league appearances, scored 29 points including a game-winning layup in overtime to lift Denver to the 105-104 victory.
Greene held his own, scoring 19 points, but also had four turnovers with Jones harassing him and shot just 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.
“I learned a lot,” Greene said of the Jones matchup. “I definitely struggled at times with him using the veteran moves on me, but I learned a lot and got him a couple times.”
By “got him a couple times” Greene is referring to the occasions when he was able to put the ball on the floor and get to the hoop for a layup with Jones draped all over him.
Other than that, Greene’s game looked like a SportsCenter highlight package – all dunks and threes.
The crowd-pleasing plays that Greene makes are all well and good, but Syracuse assistant coach Rob Murphy (who recruited Greene to the Orange) knows that it will be the little things that will earn him playing time next season.
“Watching the Rockets over the last two or three years, it’s a lot of Yao [Ming] and Tracy [McGrady],” Murphy said. “So the way he has to get on the floor is to rebound, run the floor, get easy baskets and most importantly, play good defense – that’s both on-ball defense and help side – so, he’s working hard at that right now.”
Greene echoed Murphy’s assessment, although the rookie who dropped 40 points on 12-for-20 shooting in his summer league debut looked at his role with the team from more of an offensive perspective.
“I just feel like I can contribute to the team by just hitting open shots,” Greene said. “On the team you got Yao and T-Mac who will definitely be facing a lot of double teams so there’s going to be a lot of open shots for me. I also want to try to get into the lane and create for them at the same time. I just want to go out there as a young fella’ and just learn.”
Just like how when the national threat level rises and the corresponding color code goes from orange to red, Greene hopes to raise his game to new heights as he’s traded in his Syracuse tangerine threads for the ruby gear that the Rockets wear.
Greene’s 40-point game wasn’t just two points off of Marcus Banks’ Las Vegas summer league record, it was a statement that the 27 teams who passed on him before the Grizzlies took him at No. 28 made a big mistake.
“You have to come out here with the confidence to prove everybody wrong,” Greene said. “I did that. I definitely had a lot of fun [doing it].”
Through three games, Greene is averaging 25.3 points on .442 shooting from the field and .385 from deep to go with 4.3 rebounds per game. The Rockets are 2-1.
“On Draft day, I was kind of shocked that he didn’t get drafted until No. 28, then he [was traded] to Houston and that was one of the teams that we talked about previous to the Draft.,” Murphy said. “Although [the Rockets] were drafting late, I asked him how would he feel if he dropped down and he said it doesn’t matter, as long as he’s in a great situation and he feels he’s in a great situation [in Houston].
“The Rockets were one of the few teams, if not the only team, to come to campus and actually talk to Coach Boeheim and the coaching staff and our trainers and just talk to people in the area about him as a person, on and off the court. So, they really did their background and their homework and they really were a team that wanted him, so it just worked out well.”
Houston’s starting lineup will likely be Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady in the backcourt, Shane Battier and Luis Scola at the forwards and Yao Ming at center. That will leave Greene competing with sharpshooter Steve Novak and bangers Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey for backup minutes at the three and the four spots.
When asked for a comparable NBA player to Greene, Murphy cites Orlando forward Rashard Lewis.
“I think he’ll develop a little more on the post than Rashard has, [Lewis plays] more on the perimeter,” Murphy said. “I think Donté has a little better ball skills. But [Donté] can become an All-Star if he really puts it all together. That’s a pretty good comparison in Rashard Lewis because their games kind of mirror each other.”
While his potential is palpable and leads to allusions to All-Stars like Lewis, Greene is keeping his agenda nice and simple with two games left in Las Vegas.
“Play hard, man,” Greene said. “That’s all you can do. Play hard, work hard and definitely listen and learn.”
by Dave McMenamen
LAS VEGAS, July 19, 2008 -- Before the Rockets’ summer league game against the Nuggets on Friday, Houston rookie Donté Greene was engaged in a playful game of one-on-one with a ball boy that couldn’t have been more than 13-years old. The 6-11, 226-pound manchild is only 20-years old himself and looked just as joyful to be playing with the kid as the kid was to be mixing it up with a legitimate professional basketball player.
When the game started and Greene was matched up with five-year NBA veteran Dahntay Jones, Donté took on the role of the ball boy while Dahntay looked delighted to be carving up Greene and the Rockets’ defense like the guy who cuts the roast beef under the heat lamp in a Vegas buffet line.
Jones, with 246 regular season games under his belt, as opposed to Greene’s three summer league appearances, scored 29 points including a game-winning layup in overtime to lift Denver to the 105-104 victory.
Greene held his own, scoring 19 points, but also had four turnovers with Jones harassing him and shot just 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.
“I learned a lot,” Greene said of the Jones matchup. “I definitely struggled at times with him using the veteran moves on me, but I learned a lot and got him a couple times.”
By “got him a couple times” Greene is referring to the occasions when he was able to put the ball on the floor and get to the hoop for a layup with Jones draped all over him.
Other than that, Greene’s game looked like a SportsCenter highlight package – all dunks and threes.
The crowd-pleasing plays that Greene makes are all well and good, but Syracuse assistant coach Rob Murphy (who recruited Greene to the Orange) knows that it will be the little things that will earn him playing time next season.
“Watching the Rockets over the last two or three years, it’s a lot of Yao [Ming] and Tracy [McGrady],” Murphy said. “So the way he has to get on the floor is to rebound, run the floor, get easy baskets and most importantly, play good defense – that’s both on-ball defense and help side – so, he’s working hard at that right now.”
Greene echoed Murphy’s assessment, although the rookie who dropped 40 points on 12-for-20 shooting in his summer league debut looked at his role with the team from more of an offensive perspective.
“I just feel like I can contribute to the team by just hitting open shots,” Greene said. “On the team you got Yao and T-Mac who will definitely be facing a lot of double teams so there’s going to be a lot of open shots for me. I also want to try to get into the lane and create for them at the same time. I just want to go out there as a young fella’ and just learn.”
Just like how when the national threat level rises and the corresponding color code goes from orange to red, Greene hopes to raise his game to new heights as he’s traded in his Syracuse tangerine threads for the ruby gear that the Rockets wear.
Greene’s 40-point game wasn’t just two points off of Marcus Banks’ Las Vegas summer league record, it was a statement that the 27 teams who passed on him before the Grizzlies took him at No. 28 made a big mistake.
“You have to come out here with the confidence to prove everybody wrong,” Greene said. “I did that. I definitely had a lot of fun [doing it].”
Through three games, Greene is averaging 25.3 points on .442 shooting from the field and .385 from deep to go with 4.3 rebounds per game. The Rockets are 2-1.
“On Draft day, I was kind of shocked that he didn’t get drafted until No. 28, then he [was traded] to Houston and that was one of the teams that we talked about previous to the Draft.,” Murphy said. “Although [the Rockets] were drafting late, I asked him how would he feel if he dropped down and he said it doesn’t matter, as long as he’s in a great situation and he feels he’s in a great situation [in Houston].
“The Rockets were one of the few teams, if not the only team, to come to campus and actually talk to Coach Boeheim and the coaching staff and our trainers and just talk to people in the area about him as a person, on and off the court. So, they really did their background and their homework and they really were a team that wanted him, so it just worked out well.”
Houston’s starting lineup will likely be Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady in the backcourt, Shane Battier and Luis Scola at the forwards and Yao Ming at center. That will leave Greene competing with sharpshooter Steve Novak and bangers Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey for backup minutes at the three and the four spots.
When asked for a comparable NBA player to Greene, Murphy cites Orlando forward Rashard Lewis.
“I think he’ll develop a little more on the post than Rashard has, [Lewis plays] more on the perimeter,” Murphy said. “I think Donté has a little better ball skills. But [Donté] can become an All-Star if he really puts it all together. That’s a pretty good comparison in Rashard Lewis because their games kind of mirror each other.”
While his potential is palpable and leads to allusions to All-Stars like Lewis, Greene is keeping his agenda nice and simple with two games left in Las Vegas.
“Play hard, man,” Greene said. “That’s all you can do. Play hard, work hard and definitely listen and learn.”
Why does it always have to be about who ripped off who? This is a good deal for both teams. Like Artest himself said before, Reggie Theus would be better off with a young team and Artest would be better off with a veteran coach who knows how to use him. Nobody got ripped off, both teams got what they wanted.
But the first thing that comes to my mind regarding this trade, and what nobody has discussed so far, is how completely the Maloofs shot themselves in the foot when they let Rick Adelman go. That was a promising team with Mike, Bonzi, Artest, SAR, and Miller who looked good in the playoffs despite a lackluster performance from Brad. Artest says he'll take a paycut to make sure Bonzi can stay and demands that Adelman stay too but both of them leave that offseason and the team instantly sinks to one of the worst in the league despite career numbers from Artest and Kevin Martin. Hmm. Now two years later Artest gets reunited with Adelman in Houston and we're stacking up draft picks hoping they pan out and counting the days until our former All Star's contract expires. It didn't have to be this way. The words "be careful what you wish for" come to mind. The Maloofs wanted a change of pace and they're going to get it, only it'll take a lot longer than they probably expected.
But there's nothing to be done about that now. I like the Udrih signing a little better knowing that the pressure's off for this team to amount to anything in the immediate future. Having a young group of guys grow up together and develop as a team is a good way to put the past behind them and create a new team personality. Greene is an exciting player. He's got a smoothness on the court that you just don't see very often. If he can keep his head on straight he could really be special. I'm glad we're moving on from Artest too. In an alternate world where Adelman stays on board and Bonzi fires his agent a year earlier, Ron's legacy as a Sacramento King could have mattered but with this current personnel it just wasn't going to work. And despite what you all seem to think, that's not all Ron's fault.
But the first thing that comes to my mind regarding this trade, and what nobody has discussed so far, is how completely the Maloofs shot themselves in the foot when they let Rick Adelman go. That was a promising team with Mike, Bonzi, Artest, SAR, and Miller who looked good in the playoffs despite a lackluster performance from Brad. Artest says he'll take a paycut to make sure Bonzi can stay and demands that Adelman stay too but both of them leave that offseason and the team instantly sinks to one of the worst in the league despite career numbers from Artest and Kevin Martin. Hmm. Now two years later Artest gets reunited with Adelman in Houston and we're stacking up draft picks hoping they pan out and counting the days until our former All Star's contract expires. It didn't have to be this way. The words "be careful what you wish for" come to mind. The Maloofs wanted a change of pace and they're going to get it, only it'll take a lot longer than they probably expected.
But there's nothing to be done about that now. I like the Udrih signing a little better knowing that the pressure's off for this team to amount to anything in the immediate future. Having a young group of guys grow up together and develop as a team is a good way to put the past behind them and create a new team personality. Greene is an exciting player. He's got a smoothness on the court that you just don't see very often. If he can keep his head on straight he could really be special. I'm glad we're moving on from Artest too. In an alternate world where Adelman stays on board and Bonzi fires his agent a year earlier, Ron's legacy as a Sacramento King could have mattered but with this current personnel it just wasn't going to work. And despite what you all seem to think, that's not all Ron's fault.
This report losses some credibility with me by hyping Greene a bit much and listing him 6'11/225. Most every report I've seen shows him as 6'9 and around 220-225. He's pretty skinny with similar fame (although much shorter wing span) to GSW Anthony Randolph. Greene just turned 20 so has plenty of time to "grow up." Only played one year at Syracuse and is a bit of a project - maybe a lot of project for the Kings.
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You want hyping? David Thorpe has skipped past the obvious Lewis comparisons and gone right to Durant.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playe...eason=2009&playerRankingType=1&period=1&set=1
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playe...eason=2009&playerRankingType=1&period=1&set=1
6.825" in bare feet, which is fine for a small forward. He just turned 20, so it's not out of the question that he could get an inch or two taller.
I know. Syracuse had him listed at 6'9, but that was at age 18-19. Maybe he grew since he's now 20. Either way, he's a pretty skinny rail and next to a player like Jason Thompson a confirmed 6'11/250 it would be rather obvious. I'm not concerned about Greene since he's got lots of upside and I think may actually be better right now or for his career than Anthony Randolph.
Like the deal for both teams.
Face it, there wasn't a great market out there for Ron. The Lakers were rumored to be interested, but I wouldn't be surprised if they held off dealing Odom, especially for a SF, before they knew Bynum's health 100%. The Nuggets went a different direction, adding Balkman and Allen... the Clips signed Ricky Davis... Dallas wouldn't give up Howard... etc.
As has been stated before, this is simliar to what the Nuggets trade last year would have been, if Denver had been willing to part with Kleiza. Now, some may say the Kings would have been better served waiting for this year's deadline, but I don't buy it. Ron would have been a distraction, and I don't think teams would have given us a better deal for a half-season rental.
I like it for Ron, and the Rockets, too. It will be nice to see Artest and Adelman back at it, and he gives T-Mac and Yao a great third option on offense and a stopper on defense. They now have some options, having already added Brent Barry to the fold, if they want to trade Battier for a legit PG, or they could just go big in crunch time with T-Mac bringing the ball up. They should definitely make a decent run out of the first round this year... Of course, with Yao and T-Mac's injury concerns, and Ron's "other" concerns, this team could implode as well. (which makes getting a 09 draft pick from them all the more interesting)
Face it, there wasn't a great market out there for Ron. The Lakers were rumored to be interested, but I wouldn't be surprised if they held off dealing Odom, especially for a SF, before they knew Bynum's health 100%. The Nuggets went a different direction, adding Balkman and Allen... the Clips signed Ricky Davis... Dallas wouldn't give up Howard... etc.
As has been stated before, this is simliar to what the Nuggets trade last year would have been, if Denver had been willing to part with Kleiza. Now, some may say the Kings would have been better served waiting for this year's deadline, but I don't buy it. Ron would have been a distraction, and I don't think teams would have given us a better deal for a half-season rental.
I like it for Ron, and the Rockets, too. It will be nice to see Artest and Adelman back at it, and he gives T-Mac and Yao a great third option on offense and a stopper on defense. They now have some options, having already added Brent Barry to the fold, if they want to trade Battier for a legit PG, or they could just go big in crunch time with T-Mac bringing the ball up. They should definitely make a decent run out of the first round this year... Of course, with Yao and T-Mac's injury concerns, and Ron's "other" concerns, this team could implode as well. (which makes getting a 09 draft pick from them all the more interesting)