Close the book and move on

[VF21]

A new blog entry has been added:

Close the book and move on

And so, with little fanfare and just breaking news, the Artest era is over.

With the announcement that Ron Artest is being traded to the Houston Rockets, the curtain has come down on arguably the most tumultuous period of Kings history.

We thank Ron Artest for his passion and his intensity. We wish him well. His time here was never boring. We hope he'll find what he's looking for in Houston with Coach Adelman. Somehow, it seems like the right move for all concerned.

And, having said that, we say "WELCOME BACK" to Bobby Jackson. Our energizer bunny has returned to the team that loved him best. He's just the bit of the past we needed to move forward. And a lot of us already have the jersey!

It's a time of mixed emotions for Kings fans but most of us are already looking forward to the upcoming season. As always, we just want energy and excitement, passion and commitment.

Now and forever, GO KINGS!!!

 

[tyrant]

good to see bobby back. and here we were thinking that the bibby trade finally put the old kings to rest. them BAM, a piece of history returns. as for artest....well, he belongs in the NBA forum now.

 

[NoBonus]

Eloquent post. Nicely done.

 

[hrdboild]

With the announcement that Ron Artest is being traded to the Houston Rockets, the [c]urtain has come down on arguably the most tumultuous period of Kings history.

Oh come on.

 

[bajaden]

Oh come on.

Where we going??

 

[DirtyAcres]

With the announcement that Ron Artest is being traded to the Houston Rockets, the furtain has come down on arguably the most tumultuous period of Kings history.

Was this necessary for an article that is featured on the front page?

 

[Warhawk]

Was this necessary for an article that is featured on the front page?

Why not, it's the truth.

 

[VF21]

Was this necessary for an article that is featured on the front page?

ALL blog entries from the front page are also listed as threads in the appropriate forum for discussion. If you don't want to read it, move on. I find it fascinating you are so intrigued by my little musings you simply cannot avoid them.

 

[hrdboild]

2 1/2 years of Ron Artest was not the most tumultuous period in Kings' history. Perhaps if you include Musselman's DUI and Bibby playing injured for half a season and Brad Miller self-destructing slowly over a whole season and Shareef missing last season and Kenny Thomas playing himself from a nightly double-double to the inactive roster and everything else that had nothing to do with Ron Artest you maybe could make a case for it. But the Webber injury, rehabilitation, return, and eventual trade was all pretty controversial, and perhaps the beginning of the end of Adelman as coach of the Kings and the playoff streak and the home sellout streak...not to mention everything else that happened to this franchise over 63 years and 4 different cities.

 

[VF21]

Hence my use of the qualifying word "ARGUABLY" in the phase "...arguably the most tumultuous period in Kings' history."

 

[Warhawk]

2 1/2 years of Ron Artest was not the most tumultuous period in Kings' history. Perhaps if you include Musselman's DUI and Bibby playing injured for half a season and Brad Miller self-destructing slowly over a whole season and Shareef missing last season and Kenny Thomas playing himself from a nightly double-double to the inactive roster and everything else that had nothing to do with Ron Artest you maybe could make a case for it. But the Webber injury, rehabilitation, return, and eventual trade was all pretty controversial, and perhaps the beginning of the end of Adelman as coach of the Kings and the playoff streak and the home sellout streak...not to mention everything else that happened to this franchise over 63 years and 4 different cities.

The phrasing was "tumultuous period", which would be correct including all those items listed, correct?

 

[hrdboild]

Yes, but then how does Ron Artest leaving close the book for good on that period when Brad and Kenny are still here, Brad's now got an admitted drug problem (did anyone see that one coming?), and Shareef's future status is no more certain now than it was a year ago? The post seemed to imply that Ron was the root of all the 'tumult' for the past 2 1/2 years and seeing him leave puts an end to it. All things considered, Ron's distractions don't really overshadow the (thankfully) short-lived Musselman era or all the other roster problems related to the guys I mentioned. He's the loudest of any of them, but he's also the guy who did his job on the court despite all of this.

We've had this argument already so there's no point playing it out again. People are fed up with Ron, I get that. But in the heat of some really silly comments from both Ron and Joe Maloof, there's some apparent need to oversell just how much of a problem he ever was for this franchise. The Ron Artest era was barely a speedbump. It'll be forgotten soon enough. It gave us one exciting playoff series followed by two years of front office indecision and disastrous personnel moves. Maybe it looks like chaos right now, with Ron Artest on sportscenter seemingly every day with a brilliant new soundbyte -- but that's just the sharks stirring the water where they smell blood. Soon enough actual basketball will start and people will realize how pointless this Ron Artest hate show was. Hopefully.

 

[VF21]

Um, dude? You do realize it's merely a blog entry and not anything chiseled in stone, right?

No, the post DIDN'T imply that Ron was the root of all the "tumult". What I meant was that with his departure it will hopefully mean any end to a period of time that has been marked with a lot of drama, etc.

Why would I think that? Because Ron Artest has been the posterchild for negative press, way too much focus on the wrong things, etc.

The Ron Artest hate show? Oh, please. I've shown remarkable restraint as have a lot of other long-time Kings fans who have really and truly DETESTED what Ron Artest did to our team. If you don't feel that way, fine. No problem. But please don't presume to know how deeply his actions hurt some fans.

By the way? I used the curtain coming down phrase purposefully because this has been a bad drama; a poor takeoff on a Shakespearean tragedy. Instead of simply rooting for our team, we - the fans - have been subjected to way too much drama from the Tru Warier. Maybe being in So. Cal. you missed most of it but up here it was constantly on the news.

I'm not presenting facts and acting as though they're the only viewpoint. But you've made a couple of critical errors:

1.

All things considered, Ron's distractions don't really overshadow the (thankfully) short-lived Musselman era or all the other roster problems related to the guys I mentioned.

Artest passed Musselman a long time ago. Musselman was one and done. Artest is the "gift" that just keeps on giving...

2.

He's the loudest of any of them, but he's also the guy who did his job on the court despite all of this.

Did his job on the court? Yeah, except when he decided to take himself out of the lineup at the last minute OR put himself back into the game when the coach had taken him out. OR ignored the other guys on the court wearing the same uniform in his need to be THE GUY, the one who went iso so many times we actually thought about putting Kevin's picture on a milk carton as he apparently had disappeared - at least from Artest's view. And that happened a lot more than just once or twice. And it wasn't just Kevin Martin.

3.

there's some apparent need to oversell just how much of a problem he ever was for this franchise.

Assessing how much of a problem he was for the Kings is subjective. If you don't think he was anything more than a speedbump, you're entitled to your opinion - and I heartily disagree with it.

I've said repeatedly - as have many others - that I'm sick and tired of all the "Ron Artest TV" hype on SportsCenter, etc. I'd much rather they be talking about good stuff but it's always about Artest. When Martin was named to be part of the squad working with the Olympic team, that was an honor - but it was totally overshadowed by Ron Artest. When Jason Thompson was drafted it should have been a primary topic for discussion but Ron Artest chose that very day to waffle AGAIN about his contract status. He has shown a consistent need to always be the one in the spotlight and I'm past caring. But that doesn't mean I won't write a blog entry about it. Why? Because that's what's being talked about.

 

[Warhawk]

Yes, but then how does Ron Artest leaving close the book for good on that period when Brad and Kenny are still here, Brad's now got an admitted drug problem (did anyone see that one coming?), and Shareef's future status is no more certain now than it was a year ago? The post seemed to imply that Ron was the root of all the 'tumult' for the past 2 1/2 years and seeing him leave puts an end to it. All things considered, Ron's distractions don't really overshadow the (thankfully) short-lived Musselman era or all the other roster problems related to the guys I mentioned. He's the loudest of any of them, but he's also the guy who did his job on the court despite all of this.

We've had this argument already so there's no point playing it out again. People are fed up with Ron, I get that. But in the heat of some really silly comments from both Ron and Joe Maloof, there's some apparent need to oversell just how much of a problem he ever was for this franchise. The Ron Artest era was barely a speedbump. It'll be forgotten soon enough. It gave us one exciting playoff series followed by two years of front office indecision and disastrous personnel moves. Maybe it looks like chaos right now, with Ron Artest on sportscenter seemingly every day with a brilliant new soundbyte -- but that's just the sharks stirring the water where they smell blood. Soon enough actual basketball will start and people will realize how pointless this Ron Artest hate show was. Hopefully.

Frankly, the remaining problems you listed are minor compared to the ones we've been through IMHO.

Brad will be back in 5 games, so what.

SAR will probably retire soon.

KT is sitting on the bench as quiet as a mouse. Brent Price wasn't even on the bench when he was here.....

Mussleman is gone.

With the announcement that Ron Artest is being traded to the Houston Rockets, the curtain has come down on arguably the most tumultuous period of Kings history.

I don't see anywhere that she implies that Artest was the root of all the problems, do you? I think you are reading stuff into the statement that exists only in your head.

And you (and others) always throw around the "hate" term. I don't hate Ron at all. We wish him well and hope that as long as he isn't playing the Kings he does well and his team wins, or at least I do. Did you even read the farewells to Ron in the other thread?

I just didn't want him here. Simple. I admire his talent and his drive and his skills. Just use them somewhere else, because I don't think he was a good fit for the team I like to see here in Sacramento.

 

[hrdboild]

I think it's significant that Ron Artest only became a problem when first Eric Musselman and then Reggie Theus were hired to coach this team. On the court, he was never a problem when Adelman was coaching. Artest not passing the ball and taking himself out of the lineup when he's injured are issues that a real NBA coach should have dealt with. Neither of these guys seemed willing to actually enforce their policies.

Also, in the same period of time Bibby didn't pass the ball either and spent an entire season with pretty much the worst shooting percentage in the league without his coach or GM ever deciding that maybe he'd be better off getting healthy. Our All-Star center, the guy we traded away some key parts of our bench and future to acquire, flat out tanked an entire season and playoff series. Kenny Thomas quit on the team that's paying him 7 million dollars a year to the point where he was told to stay away from the team. How come the coaching staff couldn't address these problems in a timely manner? I don't blame Shareef for his troubles, but it sure would have been nice to have his veteran presence on the floor and in the locker room. Now it's quite possible that no coach would have been able to handle the chaos that's gone on here for the past two seasons, but I don't see how you can blame Artest for being put into a bad situation. He didn't help to make it better, but he didn't make it significantly worse either. From top to bottom this has been an organization aggressively avoiding taking any kind of direction and that chaos has been evident in all of the players. In Kevin Martin's obvious frustration with playing time. In Mike Bibby inexplicably forgetting that he's a point guard. Artest is an easy scape goat but I'm not nearly as sure as you are that these problems are over.

You're right that hate is the wrong word for it. It's more like an all-pervasive negativity or an assumption that anything negative which is reported about Artest is true. I'm well aware of the media hype, although I don't get the Sacramento TV news end of it down here, I'm sure they're basically just reiterating the same stories everyone else is. Show sound byte, chuckle about crazy Ron, show replay of the Auburn Hills fight, insinuate that this guy is not someone you want to be around your kids. I see it over and over and over to the point that I'm sick of it. I'd kindof hoped that as fans we'd be the ones who actually had Ron's back -- that we'd be the ones to say "enough is enough. look at all the good this man has done too." That's what Ron was referring to as 'propaganda'. Everyone has seen what happened in Detroit and made up their mind about him before they've met him.

I think it's actually my distance from Sacramento media which allows me to look at the whole situation more objectively. It's quite clear whenever I read the Sacbee that those reporters all have some kind of agenda. Recall all the stories about Webber and Peja which immediately preceded their trades and a whole year of "Adelman has lost his team" stories which preceded his release. I don't read the Sacbee for news about the Kings anymore. You can get all the real news from other sources without the bias. I realize you're just expressing your opinion, and I never mean to attack your comments directly. But I think the mainstream view here is only partially accurate - Ron Artest has been a distraction for this team, I agree, but he's far from being the only one. And there's so many people out there talking so loudly about it that I sometimes have to be a little persistent just to get my voice heard. Really, I intend no disrespect. Just another fan with a different point of view.

This is not addressed to either of you directly, but I've never called anybody blind for disagreeing with my point of view and I wish people would just acknowledge that maybe they don't know the whole story either instead of insisting that my disagreement with the mainstream view of the matter clearly indicates some kind of irrational stubbornness or blind devotion to Ron Artest. There's a saying that Socrates used to throw around in pretty much all of his arguments, the only genuine wisdom is in knowing what you don't know. When it comes to Artest, or anything involving NBA players, I freely admit that I don't know. Where I disagree with most is that I don't think the media types assigned to writing about these teams know much more than I do. Like I said before, we're all looking at the same evidence -- but there's more than one way to put the pieces together.

 

[Warhawk]

I think it's significant that Ron Artest only became a problem when first Eric Musselman and then Reggie Theus were hired to coach this team. On the court, he was never a problem when Adelman was coaching. Artest not passing the ball and taking himself out of the lineup when he's injured are issues that a real NBA coach should have dealt with. Neither of these guys seemed willing to actually enforce their policies.

Also, in the same period of time Bibby didn't pass the ball either and spent an entire season with pretty much the worst shooting percentage in the league without his coach or GM ever deciding that maybe he'd be better off getting healthy. Our All-Star center, the guy we traded away some key parts of our bench and future to acquire, flat out tanked an entire season and playoff series. Kenny Thomas quit on the team that's paying him 7 million dollars a year to the point where he was told to stay away from the team. How come the coaching staff couldn't address these problems in a timely manner? I don't blame Shareef for his troubles, but it sure would have been nice to have his veteran presence on the floor and in the locker room. Now it's quite possible that no coach would have been able to handle the chaos that's gone on here for the past two seasons, but I don't see how you can blame Artest for being put into a bad situation. He didn't help to make it better, but he didn't make it significantly worse either. From top to bottom this has been an organization aggressively avoiding taking any kind of direction and that chaos has been evident in all of the players. In Kevin Martin's obvious frustration with playing time. In Mike Bibby inexplicably forgetting that he's a point guard. Artest is an easy scape goat but I'm not nearly as sure as you are that these problems are over.

You're right that hate is the wrong word for it. It's more like an all-pervasive negativity or an assumption that anything negative which is reported about Artest is true. I'm well aware of the media hype, although I don't get the Sacramento TV news end of it down here, I'm sure they're basically just reiterating the same stories everyone else is. Show sound byte, chuckle about crazy Ron, show replay of the Auburn Hills fight, insinuate that this guy is not someone you want to be around your kids. I see it over and over and over to the point that I'm sick of it. I'd kindof hoped that as fans we'd be the ones who actually had Ron's back -- that we'd be the ones to say "enough is enough. look at all the good this man has done too." That's what Ron was referring to as 'propaganda'. Everyone has seen what happened in Detroit and made up their mind about him before they've met him.

I think it's actually my distance from Sacramento media which allows me to look at the whole situation more objectively. It's quite clear whenever I read the Sacbee that those reporters all have some kind of agenda. Recall all the stories about Webber and Peja which immediately preceded their trades and a whole year of "Adelman has lost his team" stories which preceded his release. I don't read the Sacbee for news about the Kings anymore. You can get all the real news from other sources without the bias. I realize you're just expressing your opinion, and I never mean to attack your comments directly. But I think the mainstream view here is only partially accurate - Ron Artest has been a distraction for this team, I agree, but he's far from being the only one. And there's so many people out there talking so loudly about it that I sometimes have to be a little persistent just to get my voice heard. Really, I intend no disrespect. Just another fan with a different point of view.

This is not addressed to either of you directly, but I've never called anybody blind for disagreeing with my point of view and I wish people would just acknowledge that maybe they don't know the whole story either instead of insisting that my disagreement with the mainstream view of the matter clearly indicates some kind of irrational stubbornness or blind devotion to Ron Artest. There's a saying that Socrates used to throw around in pretty much all of his arguments, the only genuine wisdom is in knowing what you don't know. When it comes to Artest, or anything involving NBA players, I freely admit that I don't know. Where I disagree with most is that I don't think the media types assigned to writing about these teams know much more than I do. Like I said before, we're all looking at the same evidence -- but there's more than one way to put the pieces together.

Look, I like Ron. He's entertaining and a heck of a player. He makes some very stupid decisions sometimes that really hurt his reputation. That is nobody's fault but Ron's.

Frankly, I just don't think he fits well with this team and coach. He's like oil and water with the rest of the folks here. You can try to pin the blame on everyone else (coach, etc), but it is his job to do what the coach wants him to do. Subbing yourself in and out, breaking plays, taking your teammates out of the play, deciding not to play 10 minutes before a game, those are all on Ron. If he cannot seem do what the coach asks for whatever reason, I don't see how that is the coach's fault. And you can't bench him when you are shopping him - you need him to be on the floor showing he can produce.

I think some folks choose to ignore the disruptive effects to the team of what Ron has done and some probably magnify them to an unrealistic level. There has to be a happy medium in there somewhere that is a little more reflective of reality.