Joe Maloof Says "Kings Want to Extend Ron Artest"

[fansinceday1]

Grant and Mike were talking about the year Webber was hurt and came back and torpedoed a VERY GOOD kings team that was dominating without him. It was asked why Webb didnt tell Adelman to ease him back into a very hot team, ala Tim Duncan. Because Webber was such a PD, Adelman felt like he had to start webber as soon as he came back, damn the team. I remember that year like it was yesterday. IMO Grant and Mike were dead on. With both Webb and RonRon.

 

[BMiller52]

Grant and Mike were talking about the year Webber was hurt and came back and torpedoed a VERY GOOD kings team that was dominating without him. It was asked why Webb didnt tell Adelman to ease him back into a very hot team, ala Tim Duncan. Because Webber was such a PD, Adelman felt like he had to start webber as soon as he came back, damn the team. I remember that year like it was yesterday. IMO Grant and Mike were dead on. With both Webb and RonRon.

That team wasn't even dominating dude. They had a really easy schedule for the 1st 3/4 of the year. They ended up having a bunch of injuries towards the end of the year anyway. Miller jacked up his elbow, IIRC Bobby got hurt middle of the year, Vlade's back started acting up(he didn't play that much in the playoffs, especially vs the faster Mavs and it basically exploded the next year when he was with LA), Peja got all ego hurt, etc. Sorry but that team wouldn't have even gone as far as they did in the POs without Webber. What we should've done was traded Vlade's expiring contract to Portland for Rasheed Wallace(that was all they really wanted anyway, and why they basically traded him for just Reef). That would've given the team the depth, toughness, and post defense they needed to get a championship that year. But I guess that's a discussion for another day.

Sorry but this whole attitude of "no we gots to get rid of our best playerz to appease these crappier guys!!!!!11one11!" is what got us here in the 1st place. When we traded Webber cuz Peja had his feelings hurt.

 

[fansinceday1]

Ron is our best player. That's SAD. He's a friggin mess and our team is worse off because of him.

I'll play tonight, no.......maybe I won't. Wait, we are playing a playoff bound team so I think I'll play. The coach doesnt even know if his "best" player is gonna play. Ron's a loser. Which explains why we can't trade his sorry butt.

 

[AyeCarly]

We also know what he's presently doing. Presently, he doesn't show up to play for all of his games, he self-proclaims to take games off (figuratively and literally) for weaker opponents. There's your .500 record right there. If he's really for the team, then he'd have played those games in which he would have made the biggest difference, not just the marquee matchups. When Mikki Moore, yes Mikki Moore, calls you out [I think the term was "I don't know what to expect anymore"], that should send some red flags. Ron Artest is not only a divisive figure on this forum, but clearly in the locker room as well. All of this reflects the info presented THIS year, not junk from past years.

I’ll start off by saying I am 60% Yes / 40% No, in favor of trading Ron.

I just want to set the record straight with Ron, regarding the "taking nights off" issue.

Here are some facts.

He has played 50 games. Our record with him in the lineup is 25-25 or a .500 win percentage. Without him our record is 6-14 or .300 win percentage. Yes others were out too, but looking at our record with him in the lineup says a lot, and I think that is the reason the organization gives him leeway. Not to mention being the catalyst of getting us to the playoffs the 05-06 season, when it looked like the season was in question, and of course his rare abilities on the court.

Since we have played 70 games so far, that means he has missed 20 games this year. He missed 7 at the start due to suspension, 9 in the middle due to elbow surgery, 1 game due to his daughter’s health issues. That leaves 3 games that he has missed due to questionable reasons. His reasons of course, resting his ailing body parts against weaker teams he thought we would beat without him, the Clippers 3/5, TWolves 3/7, and Grizzlies 3/22, games we ALL lost. Also he voiced, that it appeared the team gave up on the playoffs despite not being mathematically eliminated. What is his motivation to play then.

It has been clear since he joined the team that his objective was to make the playoffs. Seems like we are nitpicking because he is RonRon.

 

[KingsFan93]

ditto on hearing the same garbage defense of it. but hey, i didn't bring it up, this opened the door for it:

What do you really want? If you want Ron out, then you made it clear; what else then? Are you waiting for him to goof up so you can say I told you so?

You say he's gonna lose it and others say he won't, no one can really predict it; so deal with it.

btw, what opened the door to Ron's defense is the incessant and unconstructive criticism that he's been facing from such fans.

 

[KingsFan93]

...9 in the middle due to elbow surgery.

Let's not forget that he came back earlier than expected from that injury.

 

[Jerryaki]

What do you really want? If you want Ron out, then you made it clear; what else then? Are you waiting for him to goof up so you can say I told you so?

like others here, i wanted to express my opinion. "what do you want? if you want ron to stay, then you made it clear." see how this stuff can be turned one way or another??

You say he's gonna lose it and others say he won't, no one can really predict it; so deal with it.

btw, what opened the door to Ron's defense is the incessant and unconstructive criticism that he's been facing from such fans.

yeah, but at least when i effin' criticize i don't do patronizing s*** like telling people to "just deal with it" and thereby implying that i am in the right.

and when you're doling out the advice, why not try taking some of your own?

ETA: and i, at least, am not saying he is going to lose it. i am saying there's the probability that he may, but probable or not, i don't want to risk the franchise's future on that gamble. THAT is my stance. unlike you, i don't want to have him around and "hope for the best."

 

[sidney]

If we had a superstar (Lebron, Kobe, KG, Amare) NO ONE with any sense would want Ron off the team. Until we get that key player he is just not going to work as our best player. He doesn't have the mental strength/talent combination for it. In a year or two we have the expiring contracts and young players that could put us in the situation to get that star player but by then Ron will be 30+, overpaid, and still too unstable to trust.

He's a great player, just wrong place/wrong time for our franchise. He'll thrive in the right situation, just not here

 

[VF21]

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[Spike]

Also he voiced, that it appeared the team gave up on the playoffs despite not being mathematically eliminated. What is his motivation to play then.

It has been clear since he joined the team that his objective was to make the playoffs. Seems like we are nitpicking because he is RonRon.

So basically, the argument is: "if they won't play, why should I?" That doesn't seem like good reasoning from the man wanting to repeatedly extend his thumbs towards his shoulders as the team's leader. (Picture it for a moment; it's actually quite humorous if you do.)

 

[AyeCarly]

So basically, the argument is: "if they won't play, why should I?" That doesn't seem like good reasoning from the man wanting to repeatedly extend his thumbs towards his shoulders as the team's leader. (Picture it for a moment; it's actually quite humorous if you do.)

Sure his attitude is questionable and how much he respects his teammates and coach is too. Fact is he is the teams best (overall) player and he knows it. I'm not so sure he tries to lead as much as he tries to compete with the expectation his teammates and coaches will compete as he does.

Again I look at his record in games he has played in, with a team consisted of 2 skilled players (Brad, Kevin) and 2 somewhat skilled players (Mikki, Beno) at his side, and a so-so bench that has improved. The record is now 26-25 for the 51 games he has played in this season, a 51% win percentage.

Is he good enough to lead this team, you're right, no. Is he good enough to impact a team enough to get wins and a winning record, yes. There is a real fine line here. Wins (or ability to win, which with Ron on the team greatly increases) vs. Team Chemistry.

 

[Entity]

So to win with Ron we would need that other player. In this case a good power foward. Problem is lets say with get that PF at the expense of Ron Artest are we then in the same situation. A good PF and good SG but we lack that defensive all hustle guy like Artest. What do we do?

 

[Spike]

Sure his attitude is questionable and how much he respects his teammates and coach is too.

That's exactly the argument many of us are making. Nobody is questioning his skill. It's the attitude that causes a problem, especially on a team trying to rebuild.

 

[Entity]

We also know what he's presently doing. Presently, he doesn't show up to play for all of his games, he self-proclaims to take games off (figuratively and literally) for weaker opponents. There's your .500 record right there. If he's really for the team, then he'd have played those games in which he would have made the biggest difference, not just the marquee matchups. When Mikki Moore, yes Mikki Moore, calls you out [I think the term was "I don't know what to expect anymore"], that should send some red flags. Ron Artest is not only a divisive figure on this forum, but clearly in the locker room as well. All of this reflects the info presented THIS year, not junk from past years.

You could look at it that way or. You could look at is as Ron doing Reggies job and playing the kids. The kids play against the weaker teams and Ron doesn't sit and get rusty and chooses to play against players like Kobe, Tmac ect. Maybe Ron is the smartest person in this whole scenrio. Kids get experience and he keeps his trade value up by putting up good numbers against the top dogs.

 

[Spike]

...I don't know what to say. I think you've got me there.

 

[Warhawk]

I'm not so sure he tries to lead as much as he tries to compete with the expectation his teammates and coaches will compete as he does.

I think Ron needs to realize that others may not set the same goals at the same time in the same way as he does. He wants to win a ring this year. Well, who doesn't? But Ron gets on Reggie for wanting to break 0.500. You can't get to the PO with less than that in any given year (this year being an extreme example in the West). You can't win a ring if you are not in the PO. It's called setting intermediate and reasonable goals. Looking at a ring when you are sitting at 0.400 midway through the year is not reasonable or attainable. Getting to 0.500 is. Then you change your goals to reflect the situation you are in.

You can't reach the carrot dangling in front of you if the carrot is too far away to see. Nobody ever said 0.500 was the pinnacle of Reggie's vision for the team. It's a somewhat reasonable goal to shoot for in the short-term.

 

[mcsluggo]

It wasn't aimed at you. It was simply a comment about team owners. Besides the Maloofs, Mark Cuban, and possibly Dr. Jerry Buss, can you name any other owners let alone pick them out of a crowd? (Not including Glenn Taylor, who's only in the news now because of his idiotic comments about Kevin Garnett).

and is this a GOOD thing for the kings.....?

 

[Showtime]

Since my last comment was deleted, I will restate only my feelings about Artest and the team that is valid about the topic:

As a fan, I want this team to get back to the point of contention. I want this team to succeed. Ron Artest, while being a great talent, isn't the player who will get the team to that point, and I don't think he's the guy who can even get the team headed in that direction. I want the best for this team, and I won't support a direction that I feel isn't heading down that road. I won't be like a Knick fan who still goes to games.