Kings notes: Artest casts his vote for Artest

[Kamehameha]

The more I read about Artest - the most selfish he comes across.

It's one thing to be confident, it's another to be ridiculously arrogant.

 

[BigWaxer]

The more I read about Artest - the most selfish he comes across.

It's one thing to be confident, it's another to be ridiculously arrogant.

I hear your point K... but I am not sure thats a problem, Most of the great players have some selfishness in them. Even the great #23

 

[VF21]

The more I read about Artest - the most selfish he comes across.

It's one thing to be confident, it's another to be ridiculously arrogant.

I really think you're misreading the situation. Artest may be a lot of things, but I don't think arrogant is one of them. In fact, arrogant would be just about the last word I would use to describe Ron Artest.

Artest is very focused about what he does, almost to the point of OCD. He works very hard to be the best and he's done a pretty good job in that regard, IMHO. He has confidence and he believes in himself. That is NOT arrogance.

 

[Kamehameha]

I like Ron Artest. I do. But, since he's been here I've just read and heard really absurd things from him.

I know great players can sometimes be "cocky". And to a point they should be. But, is Artest really on their level? Maybe. Even then, I don't remember Jordan talking about Jordan 24 hours a day.

I really could be misreading it - and I hope I am. I just see him saying that the team should disregard his bad shots because he's on Kobe's level, that he was robbed 3 times for DPOTY (removing all credit from Wallace), that he's the best player in the league, etc., etc.

Confidence is one thing. I'm confident. What Artest is saying borders self-worship.

Despite all that - I love him and what he brings to our team!

 

[VF21]

Some of the stuff sounds a lot worse than it really is. And some of it is being portrayed in a certain way by some of the media. Some of the stuff, though, is the reason Pacers fans advised us a long time ago not to pay any attention to anything Ron says...

I do agree with you as far as the bottom line goes, however.

I,too, love him and what he brings to our team! As long as he keeps doing that, I honestly don't care if he stands out front of the State Capitol and proclaims himself emperor.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Some of the stuff sounds a lot worse than it really is. And some of it is being portrayed in a certain way by some of the media. Some of the stuff, though, is the reason Pacers fans advised us a long time ago not to pay any attention to anything Ron says...

I do agree with you as far as the bottom line goes, however.

I,too, love him and what he brings to our team! As long as he keeps doing that, I honestly don't care if he stands out front of the State Capitol and proclaims himself emperor.

If he brings Sacramento a title, he would be the emperor! (or atleast the governor, if he decided to run)

 

[Kings113]

Agreed VF21 ^

 

[KingCookie]

I like Ron Artest. I do. But, since he's been here I've just read and heard really absurd things from him.

I know great players can sometimes be "cocky". And to a point they should be. But, is Artest really on their level? Maybe. Even then, I don't remember Jordan talking about Jordan 24 hours a day.

I really could be misreading it - and I hope I am. I just see him saying that the team should disregard his bad shots because he's on Kobe's level, that he was robbed 3 times for DPOTY (removing all credit from Wallace), that he's the best player in the league, etc., etc.

Confidence is one thing. I'm confident. What Artest is saying borders self-worship.

Despite all that - I love him and what he brings to our team!

The only difference between Ron and those other guys is that Ron says whatever comes to his mind, and lets it all out there without a second thought. I guarantee you that every single superstar, past or present, has felt the way that he does, it's just a matter of whether they express it to the media or not.

When you hear Ron say some of these quotes, and listen to the tone in his voice, it isn't arrogance. It's downright belief in one's self, and the supreme confidence that ensues. A lot of times reading the blurbs in the paper gives what he says a different feel to it.

We know he's not MJ, he's not Magic, he's not Kobe. But does he really need to think any differently? I'd rather have a confident player who thinks he's the best and most dominant on my team than some pushover that concedes that another is better than he at will.

Bottom line is this- let the man's game speak for itself, and let his words that follow amuse you. I can't wait for the playoff smack talk to come...

 

[SoupIsGood]

I really think you're misreading the situation. Artest may be a lot of things, but I don't think arrogant is one of them. In fact, arrogant would be just about the last word I would use to describe Ron Artest.

Artest is very focused about what he does, almost to the point of OCD. He works very hard to be the best and he's done a pretty good job in that regard, IMHO. He has confidence and he believes in himself. That is NOT arrogance.

Hmmm.

This sounds pretty good.

I would say that the word might be 'overwhelmed.' In Indy, sometimes he was without a doubt overtaxed by all the things he tried to do in his life at once.

Also, like you said, I think he can let one single compulsion also overwhelm him at times.

Artest is a different and interesting person. I reckon you could make a sweet drama based upon his character and personality - the modern day 'Hamlet.' He has so many different sides to his character, it seems, and they don't always add up when put together as a whole.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

One thing to keep in mind is that Ron is pretty much a free target in the media. His on the court skill is pretty much irrelevant to anyone that wants to stir stuff up with a reporting deadline to meet, so he's not going to get a lot of favorable reporting and whenever they do talk about his on court ability there will always be a huge BUT thrown in. So all of these articles that say Ron wants more offensive touches or Ron says he's the best player in the league need to be taken with the appropriate grain of salt.

 

[kennadog]

Ron strikes me as very much an "in the moment" person. And whatever he's thinking at the moment is what comes out of his mouth. Most people censor themselves to some degree.

While some of Ron's quotes sound arrogant, I've also heard him make very humble statements and take all the blame on himself for the team's poor performance. Is he the greatest or is everything all his fault? Nope. Neither is right, but it probably is how he feels at any given moment, depending on what's going on.

Hence, the advice we've been given to not pay too much attention to what Ron says. He's likely to feel completely different the next day or maybe later the same day and make a totally different statement.

All people are "stream of conciousness" thinkers. Ron, however, is a "stream of conciousness" talker.