Cavs Going After Artest?

captain bill

All-Star
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/60262/20090701/cavs_going_after_artest/

Artest_Ron_hou.jpg
According to several league sources, the Cavaliers have been been in contact with Ron Artest.
LeBron James met with Artest on Tuesday night, according to the report.
The Rockets have had interest in Cavs free agent Anderson Varejao in the past, which opens up some possibilities of a sign-and-trade scenario - though the Cavs have said they want to re-sign Varejao.










This is a great move if it happens, IMO. Artest is only 29 so he should be able to last through a good long run with LeBron and co. For some reason I get the feeling Artest and LBJ would get along great and if any of Artest's toughness rubs off on LeBron- watch out. This is a much better addition than Charlie V and with him going to Detroit this just makes too much sense.
 
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/60262/20090701/cavs_going_after_artest/

Artest_Ron_hou.jpg
According to several league sources, the Cavaliers have been been in contact with Ron Artest.
LeBron James met with Artest on Tuesday night, according to the report.
The Rockets have had interest in Cavs free agent Anderson Varejao in the past, which opens up some possibilities of a sign-and-trade scenario - though the Cavs have said they want to re-sign Varejao.










This is a great move if it happens, IMO. Artest is only 29 so he should be able to last through a good long run with LeBron and co. For some reason I get the feeling Artest and LBJ would get along great and if any of Artest's toughness rubs off on LeBron- watch out. This is a much better addition than Charlie V and with him going to Detroit this just makes too much sense.


If any of Ron's toughness wears off on LeBron? I have no idea at all how LeBron could be any more physical or more clutch than he was last year.

But in any case, what would this mean then? running LeBron all the way at the 4? Or Artest? A Shaq, Lebron, Artest trio across the front would be just about the most physical in the history of the league.
 
If any of Ron's toughness wears off on LeBron? I have no idea at all how LeBron could be any more physical or more clutch than he was last year.

But in any case, what would this mean then? running LeBron all the way at the 4? Or Artest? A Shaq, Lebron, Artest trio across the front would be just about the most physical in the history of the league.

Some report somewhere said they want to move LeBron to PF now, which would be his second position switch since coming into the league. That would be a pretty intimidating frontline, which unfortunately would still be backed up by a paper thin backcourt. In any case, Artest and LeBron would be a heck of a lot better than LeBron and Varejao, who has the nerve to think he deserves more than 6.2 million dollars per year for being completely unable to do much on a basketball court except rebound and miss wide open shots.
 
maybe lebron will go back to sg? or artest could play pf in the east. only garnett is bigger than artest at that position. bosh is a twig, charlie v is a twig, haslem, beasley, yi how many pf in the east can take serious advantage of artest? he weighs just as much if not more than they do.
 
maybe lebron will go back to sg? or artest could play pf in the east. only garnett is bigger than artest at that position. bosh is a twig, charlie v is a twig, haslem, beasley, yi how many pf in the east can take serious advantage of artest? he weighs just as much if not more than they do.

There's actually something to be said for that observation. The East has:

Tyrus Thomas -- SF/PF small
Charlie V -- SF/PF soft
Josh Smith -- SF/PF small
Antawn Jamison -- SF/PF soft
Rashard Lewis -- SF soft
Haslem (small) or Beasley (SF/PF soft)
Brand -- small
Murphy -- soft
Yi -- soft
Bosh -- star, but soft
Chandler?? Hill? SFs? Rookies?
KG -- aging star, but will he be the same? or Big Baby -- small
Diaw -- SF/PF soft
and I;m not even sure Milawulkee has a guy

Very sad crew. You could put Artest out there against 3/4 of them with only marginally bad effects (Ron does not rebound like a PF), and hten cover it with one of the best SF rebounders of modern times.
 
There's actually something to be said for that observation. The East has:

Tyrus Thomas -- SF/PF small
Charlie V -- SF/PF soft
Josh Smith -- SF/PF small
Antawn Jamison -- SF/PF soft
Rashard Lewis -- SF soft
Haslem (small) or Beasley (SF/PF soft)
Brand -- small
Murphy -- soft
Yi -- soft
Bosh -- star, but soft
Chandler?? Hill? SFs? Rookies?
KG -- aging star, but will he be the same? or Big Baby -- small
Diaw -- SF/PF soft
and I;m not even sure Milawulkee has a guy

Very sad crew. You could put Artest out there against 3/4 of them with only marginally bad effects (Ron does not rebound like a PF), and hten cover it with one of the best SF rebounders of modern times.

artest would have a huge offensive advantage against most of them as well none of them are fast enough to keep up with him and the rest arent strong enough to stop him.
 
^^^ I think Artest and LeBron are both versatile enough that you could switch them back and forth based on match-ups: you could put Artest against Pierce, Carter, Kobe or whoever else needs to be guarded in a given series. Whatever designation they are given at the start of the season is going to matter less than how creative the coaching staff is with playing those guys together.
 
95% sure Cleveland will get him.

Sigh 40+ million dollars in injured players next year and arrest signs elsewhere. Bad offseason gets worse.
 
wow, if cleveland can get him they'd have a nice sized wing defender. can you imagine artest and lebron taking turns guarding kobe? :) that would be fun to watch
 
95% sure Cleveland will get him.

Sigh 40+ million dollars in injured players next year and arrest signs elsewhere. Bad offseason gets worse.


You guys have my sympathy -- our run was ruined by huge injuries, and you guys look like you are never going to get one because of them. And Rick...I don't even know what to say there. Except maybe ouch. Jerry Sloan is going to the HOF (or is in it?) because his two stars never, ever, got hurt for 15 straight years. Then Rick's big guns are Chris Webber, and Peja Stojakovic, and Tracy McGrady, and Yao...ouch.
 
So, um, you know that Shaq will want the ball some, then there's Artest who demands touches as well and Mo Williams cannot be very effective without creating for himself a bit. Those three alone could cover for a team's worth of possessions and then you add the player who should have the ball in his hands about 95% of the time. I'm not sure about this...
 
after losing to orlando, i think that lebron will keep his team in check. mo will get his shots against the bench. artest just wants to win a ring and shaq will pick his spots. he wont demand the ball every play, look at how he played in phx. shots shouldnt be a problem as long as they can make shots, lebron will find them. he just might average a triple double this season. varaejo and wallace couldnt make any shots, artest and shaq can but they need a sg that can make open shots, west couldnt do it against the magic. thats why they lost, he was wide open from the corner and clanked every shot.
 
I just think that the basic outfit of the team as such would prevent them from actually maximising their potential. In other words, I think there would be much better fits. A scorer that, by nature, should be more opportunistic for instance. Someone like Rip Hamilton, Michael Redd or, well, Kevin Martin. Or maybe another facilitator, someone like Lamar Odom or Hedo Turkoglu. They'd all form a better supporting cast then adding Ron Artest would.
 
Lets trade Martin to em for junk and an unprotected first round pick in 2011...

...Then hope Lebron bolts to NY :p


Seriously though...Ron on the Cavs is inneresting stuff. Both Lebron and Artest are so versatile that they can just swap around between positions 2-4 as matchups dictate. And as was mentioned, Artest/LeBron/Shaq is a massive frontline.
 
Lets trade Martin to em for junk and an unprotected first round pick in 2011...

...Then hope Lebron bolts to NY :p


Seriously though...Ron on the Cavs is inneresting stuff. Both Lebron and Artest are so versatile that they can just swap around between positions 2-4 as matchups dictate. And as was mentioned, Artest/LeBron/Shaq is a massive frontline.

If you don't have the concern over Artest's mindset and attitude, it's a great move. Unfortunately, there's always going to be that cloud hanging over their heads, and one day, they might get soaked.
 
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