Face the facts with Artest

[Vlade4GM]

Lets face it, Artest doesn't fit into the future of this club. why? well because no matter what we do from this point he's not going to want to stick around after next year and he will opt out. we can't risk letting him go for nothing and giving us still enough talent to keep us out of the high lottery. we have to get something for him and sooner is better than later, you never know when he's going to blow up.

 

[chelle]

I'm more concerned with him just walking when his contact is over than him just going crazy. As much as I was afraid of him "blowing up" when he first came, he has held it together, at least publicly, so far. He has had ample "reason" to flip out this season and has not do so as far as those outside the locker room have seen. I do not think that he has done much to help team chemistry, but I am still more concerned that we will lose him for nothing when his contact is up.

We need to make sure that we either give him an extension or trade him for young guys and draft picks OR comparable talent OR front court help. I think a trade will benefit us best.

 

[VF21]

Lets face it, Artest doesn't fit into the future of this club. why? well because no matter what we do from this point he's not going to want to stick around after next year and he will opt out. we can't risk letting him go for nothing and giving us still enough talent to keep us out of the high lottery. we have to get something for him and sooner is better than later, you never know when he's going to blow up.

You're making an assumption I don't think you can make, especially considering who you're talking about. Depending on who the Kings get in the draft and the other players Petrie acquires, there's as much possibility of him staying as walking ... at least at this point in time.

Worrying about him blowing up right now is pretty far down the concern list I would think... In case you haven't noticed, we've got a lot of other things going on. Artest isn't one of those major problems; in fact, he seems to be one of the more dependable players right now.

 

[Vlade4GM]

You're making an assumption I don't think you can make, especially considering who you're talking about. Depending on who the Kings get in the draft and the other players Petrie acquires, there's as much possibility of him staying as walking ... at least at this point in time.

Worrying about him blowing up right now is pretty far down the concern list I would think... In case you haven't noticed, we've got a lot of other things going on. Artest isn't one of those major problems; in fact, he seems to be one of the more dependable players right now.

i'm not overly worried about him blowing up or anything, but i'm just saying there is enough history to warrant acknowledgement that there is a risk it could happen. anyways, it wasn't my main point. my main point is i don't think he's going to stick around for a rebuilding process or a team that is not built for any kind of playoff run. also, he's not someone i would like to invest a big contract in, he's not that dependable imo. let someone else take that risk and we'll take their youngs and picks

 

[pdxKingsFan]

We have another year to determine if this franchise can or has reloaded fast enough to worry about Artest. Of our 3 big name players he's the bottom on my list of priorities. Bibby can opt out THIS year and Brad is an albatross right now. If we find a suitable trade and can get fair value for Artest fine, do it. But our focus should be on addressing the other two.

 

[bibbinator]

I'm not so worried about RonRon blowing up. He's a bit goofy, but has enough sense to stay out of trouble now. He knows his NBA career is over if he does get in trouble.

 

[Vlade4GM]

We have another year to determine if this franchise can or has reloaded fast enough to worry about Artest. Of our 3 big name players he's the bottom on my list of priorities. Bibby can opt out THIS year and Brad is an albatross right now. If we find a suitable trade and can get fair value for Artest fine, do it. But our focus should be on addressing the other two.

but if we're going to go young and start over and "blow up the clown" the obvious big move is to trade artest. i mean that's the logical conclusion to me, he's our best trade commodity and he's not exactly someone that will settle for being part of a rebuilding process. you really think he'll stick around past next year? i think it's naive to believe he will, i'd rather not take the risk of losing him for nothing and leave it up to his unpredictable attitude. if we're not willing to trade artest then we're not willing to commit to rebuilding, you can't have one without the other. we don't have to trade him now, but no later than the start of next year imo. and it's better we do it now if we can, we'll get a better draft position doing so.

on bibby, i don't understand why everyone just assumes he'll opt out just because he can. he's having a horrible year, why would he risk his current contract? is he really going to get on a better team? to me, ron is the logical trade piece and bibby too to a lesser extent.

 

[Cal-Kings]

What was that David Aldridge said last night on TNT that Artest refused to come out of the Hornets game when asked?

Does anyone know more about that?

 

[love_them_kings]

What was that David Aldridge said last night on TNT that Artest refused to come out of the Hornets game when asked?

Does anyone know more about that?

I heard that too, and would like to hear the full story on that! Refusing to listen to coach is NOT a good sign...

 

[Cal-Kings]

I heard that too, and would like to hear the full story on that! Refusing to listen to coach is NOT a good sign...

I think I'll ask the question in a new thread. It might not be seen down here.

 

[Kingster]

Lets face it, Artest doesn't fit into the future of this club. why? well because no matter what we do from this point he's not going to want to stick around after next year and he will opt out. we can't risk letting him go for nothing and giving us still enough talent to keep us out of the high lottery. we have to get something for him and sooner is better than later, you never know when he's going to blow up.

Totally agree. I've probably never agreed with Barkeley except on this: "What are those guys doing wasting their time and money on this team?" Like he said, you're either competing for a championship or you're building with a young team. This team is neither. I wish Petrie would say, "UNCLE!" and then get on with it. I actually find myself routing sometimes for them to lose so that Petrie will finally say, "UNCLE!!!!!" Then we would stop "wasting time" and we'd also take the pressure off this coach (I think Musselman is getting a raw deal, having to coach a team with mediocre talent, head-cases, and mismatched parts).

 

[cfechter]

Lets face it, Artest doesn't fit into the future of this club. why? well because no matter what we do from this point he's not going to want to stick around after next year and he will opt out. we can't risk letting him go for nothing and giving us still enough talent to keep us out of the high lottery. we have to get something for him and sooner is better than later, you never know when he's going to blow up.

I think I actually agree with you...to an extent.

He's been great in the past month (although our record has been pathetic) which I think has risen his trade value to an all-time high. He may not fit in the long-term plans of the team and may not want to stay through a rebuilding project. That, coupled with his low contract (which is through the end of next year), makes him easily tradeable at this point.

That being said, I am NOT giving him away for garbage. Don't talk to me about the heat's trash and low first rounder, the cavs trash and low first rounder, or some expiring contract (since his low price expires end of next year anyway)...give me something I can sink my teeth into and then I woul consider it.

I do like Ron, think he's been playing great, but wouldn't really consider trading him unless something great came along.

 

[kingsfan101]

Here's one more thing to consider. If Bibby does not opt out, and Artest does (both, fairly likely scenarios), we shall have a committed salary of around $49M in 2008. Martin shall be starting the first year of his new contract and we shall also be adding the salary of our 2007 and 2008 draft picks. After all this, we won't have the money to give Artest an extension he shall expect (even if he wants to stick around), unless the Maloofs agree to get into LT territory (if we sign some free agent to MLE this year, then it gets worse).

Admittedly, lot can change till that time. Bibby will be in the final year of his contract, and might become attractive to teams, allowing us to clear some space by then. However, granting a big extension to Artest, knowing that his good behavior might vanish before the ink on his contract is dry (allow me a little cynicism. Artest's past behavior has earned it), is, to put it mildly, tad risky. It might be a good idea to trade him, instead of watching him leave for nothing.

Miami and SA are two teams who need to win now, and can use him. Problem is getting something useful out of either of them (Heat is slightly better positioned than Spurs in this regard).

 

[cfechter]

Here's one more thing to consider. If Bibby does not opt out, and Artest does (both, fairly likely scenarios), we shall have a committed salary of around $49M in 2008. Martin shall be starting the first year of his new contract and we shall also be adding the salary of our 2007 and 2008 draft picks. After all this, we won't have the money to give Artest an extension he shall expect (even if he wants to stick around), unless the Maloofs agree to get into LT territory (if we sign some free agent to MLE this year, then it gets worse).

Admittedly, lot can change till that time. Bibby will be in the final year of his contract, and might become attractive to teams, allowing us to clear some space by then. However, granting a big extension to Artest, knowing that his good behavior might vanish before the ink on his contract is dry (allow me a little cynicism. Artest's past behavior has earned it), is, to put it mildly, tad risky. It might be a good idea to trade him, instead of watching him leave for nothing.

Miami and SA are two teams who need to win now, and can use him. Problem is getting something useful out of either of them (Heat is slightly better positioned than Spurs in this regard).

I'm with you, something will need to be done. It will be unacceptable for this team to have that high of a payroll with the roster we have.

Bibby will keep his contract, Artest will opt out, if we want to keep Kevin, he will ask for $$$$$.

That being said, again, what do we do? I say exercise patience for the right deal to be offered instead of taking obvious trash. Sometime between now and Feb 22, 2008 (yes, a year from now) someone will be desperate enough to offer us value for Artest or Bibby, so why not wait?

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think I actually agree with you...to an extent.

He's been great in the past month (although our record has been pathetic) which I think has risen his trade value to an all-time high. He may not fit in the long-term plans of the team and may not want to stay through a rebuilding project. That, coupled with his low contract (which is through the end of next year), makes him easily tradeable at this point.

That being said, I am NOT giving him away for garbage. Don't talk to me about the heat's trash and low first rounder, the cavs trash and low first rounder, or some expiring contract (since his low price expires end of next year anyway)...give me something I can sink my teeth into and then I woul consider it.

I do like Ron, think he's been playing great, but wouldn't really consider trading him unless something great came along.

i agree don't dump him, but i don't think the package has to be mind blowing that's just simply unrealistic and a roundabout way of trying to avoid dealing with an inevitable situation. remember one more thing, in this case getting something is better than getting nothing.