As always, you would have to throw in Bender as well to get me interested. Artest is just too psychotic to truly depend upon, and Bender theoretically has the potential to replace much of Peja's offense.
Other issue remains Webb's age/health. I have severe questions about Peja's ability to lead a team anywhere once Webb is gone. But he's closer to it than Artest. Ron Artest just can't be the best player/#1 option on your team, or you're in a lot of trouble. Not to mention his potential to go Rasheed on you.
In any case, this team with Peja may remain a little soft, but its in the mix. And soft or not we have been nothing but tenacious -- I'm not sure that I've ever heard of a team that has been in the playoffs 6 years in a row and has forced a final deciding game in 5 of the 6 years they have been eliminated. Say what you will about our failure to win those final games, but just to keep on forcing them shows that maybe we're not quite as soft as some people like to claim. Lot of teams go down like punks every year and collapse under adversity. With us its always a war. Health willing, we return 6 of our top 7 guys from a team that's been knocking on the door for years. On the other hand, Artest could go either way for you. Come in, key the defense, provide a healthy dose of psycho thugging, toughness and high energy to give us an edge and make us dangerous. Or he could just provide the psycho part, fight with coaches, teammates, fans, old ladies, anyone handy, and just blow himself and the team up. Heck of a risk while you can still imagine scenarios where you're in the hunt.