This article was pointed out to me over at PacersDigest...
ASK THE NBA EXPERT
By Sam Smith
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 1:46 a.m. ET March 15, 2007
One of my hobbies when I write columns is to propose possible trade scenarios as a way of looking at teams and their needs and engaging in some basketball fantasy for fun. One of the ones I suggested that occurred was, as friends say, the classic deal that hurt both teams.
It was when the Bulls acquired Jalen Rose for Brad Miller and Ron Artest.
I still support that trade, however, because the Bulls were short a go-to scorer who could play out of the post. And still probably are. Rose fit the profile of a big game player coming off a season he averaged 20 points and six assists. It seemed the perfect fit for a young team who needed a veteran to take over the scoring load. I was so proud of myself, though Jalen didn't exactly fit well with a bunch of young players who didn't know what was going on and eventually all would go.
But what I did know was the Bulls had no use for Miller and Artest.
Because they had Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry and traded Elton Brand to provide opportunities for the young kids, there as no way Miller, who was one of Jerry Krause's best free agent acquisitions and was playing well, could play regularly. Or that the Bulls could pay him. As it turned out, even Indiana couldn't and Miller signed a $67 million deal with the Kings. It's got three years and more than $34 million left after this season, and don't you think the Kings would love to be rid of that contract?
But more than anything, I knew the Bulls had to get rid of Artest.
There was no way they were going to retain and pay him, and there was no way they could have a team with him.
It was clear even then that he had serious issues even if he was such a loveable figure to be around. He was always accessible with the media, cooperative and funny. He was liked by fans and often endearing. But there was this darkness to him, an anger that spilled out and engulfed the room, leaving everyone to freeze and stare and wonder what might come next.
Much of this has been chronicled since Artest left the Bulls and changed the future of the NBA when he went into the stands in Auburn Hills.
Eventually, Artest was sent to his room by the Pacers and traded to the Kings for, really, nothing, as Peja Stojakovic left in free agency and the Pacers used that money for Al Harrington, but then got rid of him so someone would take Stephen Jackson.
And now with another outrage later, Artest is back again and the Kings are playing like there is a strange man in their midst. They don't know what he is going to do next or what to think about it and, oh by the way, they still have basketball games to play.
Artest apologized yet again, and knowing Artest, he means it. If Richard Nixon apologized as much, they'd have carved his image on Mt. Rushmore. I am not that close with Artest, but he really is truly sorry when these things happen and doesn't intend to do it again and does feel really, really badly that he has embarrassed the NBA and his team and himself.
He does put himself through probably more pain than he puts everyone else through.
And he'll do it again.
That's the problem. He can't help himself.
This latest issue was a domestic violence incident, and who knows who was at fault or what the issue was. Artest is innocent until proven guilty, as is everyone we hope, and so he's back playing with the Kings. When he was in Indiana, there was a domestic incident in which Artest apparently was the victim.
The point is with Artest it's always something.
And you're not necessarily innocent when always proven disruptive.
Yes, there have been the known incidents, like the brawl in Detroit, wanting to leave the Pacers to work on his music career, applying for outside jobs on team days off to get store discounts, the recent animal cruelty charges, equipment broken in rages at himself. The bigger issues with Artest are internal, daily episodes the team has to mediate with family members, Artest needing to get somewhere without transportation, the normal things everyone does every day become a daily crisis in Artest's world that is left in the team's lap.
They are not crimes, just the remnants of a life unable to be held together.
Will he make the team plane, be at practice, go on the road? No one is ever quite sure.
And when he's there, what will he do or say? It's usually nothing, but no one knows when there will be.
On the court, there's the same scene, like the Pigpen character from the old Peanuts comic strip. Just a mess following him.
Artest is often oblivious to game plans, shooting when the mood strikes, drifting in and out of organization. He's been known to check himself in and out of games, walking past the coach onto the floor. When the Pacers won 61 games a few years back, he slipped playoff road trips and eventually unraveled, costing the Pacers their last best shot at the Finals. It's obvious there is now a disconnect between he and Mike Bibby and what that has done to the now dysfunctional Kings, how Kevin Martin gets left out of things with fewer attempts per game despite being the leading scorer.
Coach Eric Musselman raved about things when Artest was gone from the team after the domestic violence incident. Now, Artest is back and the Kings are stumbling again and Artest is being booed and saying he considers all his games on the road now as he expects to be booed at home.
We know teams always sell their soul for a few wins. And Artest is a remarkable defender, a job few want to take on with the fervor he does. He's strong and can score in the post, pushing aside much bigger men, and can make shots. He has terrific basketball abilities.
But how can it any longer be worth the price you have to pay as a team and an organization?
http://inside.msnbc.com/id/17620997/#storyContinued
ASK THE NBA EXPERT
By Sam Smith
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 1:46 a.m. ET March 15, 2007
One of my hobbies when I write columns is to propose possible trade scenarios as a way of looking at teams and their needs and engaging in some basketball fantasy for fun. One of the ones I suggested that occurred was, as friends say, the classic deal that hurt both teams.
It was when the Bulls acquired Jalen Rose for Brad Miller and Ron Artest.
I still support that trade, however, because the Bulls were short a go-to scorer who could play out of the post. And still probably are. Rose fit the profile of a big game player coming off a season he averaged 20 points and six assists. It seemed the perfect fit for a young team who needed a veteran to take over the scoring load. I was so proud of myself, though Jalen didn't exactly fit well with a bunch of young players who didn't know what was going on and eventually all would go.
But what I did know was the Bulls had no use for Miller and Artest.
Because they had Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry and traded Elton Brand to provide opportunities for the young kids, there as no way Miller, who was one of Jerry Krause's best free agent acquisitions and was playing well, could play regularly. Or that the Bulls could pay him. As it turned out, even Indiana couldn't and Miller signed a $67 million deal with the Kings. It's got three years and more than $34 million left after this season, and don't you think the Kings would love to be rid of that contract?
But more than anything, I knew the Bulls had to get rid of Artest.
There was no way they were going to retain and pay him, and there was no way they could have a team with him.
It was clear even then that he had serious issues even if he was such a loveable figure to be around. He was always accessible with the media, cooperative and funny. He was liked by fans and often endearing. But there was this darkness to him, an anger that spilled out and engulfed the room, leaving everyone to freeze and stare and wonder what might come next.
Much of this has been chronicled since Artest left the Bulls and changed the future of the NBA when he went into the stands in Auburn Hills.
Eventually, Artest was sent to his room by the Pacers and traded to the Kings for, really, nothing, as Peja Stojakovic left in free agency and the Pacers used that money for Al Harrington, but then got rid of him so someone would take Stephen Jackson.
And now with another outrage later, Artest is back again and the Kings are playing like there is a strange man in their midst. They don't know what he is going to do next or what to think about it and, oh by the way, they still have basketball games to play.
Artest apologized yet again, and knowing Artest, he means it. If Richard Nixon apologized as much, they'd have carved his image on Mt. Rushmore. I am not that close with Artest, but he really is truly sorry when these things happen and doesn't intend to do it again and does feel really, really badly that he has embarrassed the NBA and his team and himself.
He does put himself through probably more pain than he puts everyone else through.
And he'll do it again.
That's the problem. He can't help himself.
This latest issue was a domestic violence incident, and who knows who was at fault or what the issue was. Artest is innocent until proven guilty, as is everyone we hope, and so he's back playing with the Kings. When he was in Indiana, there was a domestic incident in which Artest apparently was the victim.
The point is with Artest it's always something.
And you're not necessarily innocent when always proven disruptive.
Yes, there have been the known incidents, like the brawl in Detroit, wanting to leave the Pacers to work on his music career, applying for outside jobs on team days off to get store discounts, the recent animal cruelty charges, equipment broken in rages at himself. The bigger issues with Artest are internal, daily episodes the team has to mediate with family members, Artest needing to get somewhere without transportation, the normal things everyone does every day become a daily crisis in Artest's world that is left in the team's lap.
They are not crimes, just the remnants of a life unable to be held together.
Will he make the team plane, be at practice, go on the road? No one is ever quite sure.
And when he's there, what will he do or say? It's usually nothing, but no one knows when there will be.
On the court, there's the same scene, like the Pigpen character from the old Peanuts comic strip. Just a mess following him.
Artest is often oblivious to game plans, shooting when the mood strikes, drifting in and out of organization. He's been known to check himself in and out of games, walking past the coach onto the floor. When the Pacers won 61 games a few years back, he slipped playoff road trips and eventually unraveled, costing the Pacers their last best shot at the Finals. It's obvious there is now a disconnect between he and Mike Bibby and what that has done to the now dysfunctional Kings, how Kevin Martin gets left out of things with fewer attempts per game despite being the leading scorer.
Coach Eric Musselman raved about things when Artest was gone from the team after the domestic violence incident. Now, Artest is back and the Kings are stumbling again and Artest is being booed and saying he considers all his games on the road now as he expects to be booed at home.
We know teams always sell their soul for a few wins. And Artest is a remarkable defender, a job few want to take on with the fervor he does. He's strong and can score in the post, pushing aside much bigger men, and can make shots. He has terrific basketball abilities.
But how can it any longer be worth the price you have to pay as a team and an organization?
http://inside.msnbc.com/id/17620997/#storyContinued
