Let's Take an Artest Reading

[quick dog]

I think Artest has behaved himself nicely since becoming a Sacramento King. I am not as apprehensive as some folks because I believe that most basketball players behave appropriately when they are treated with respect and coaches are clear about expectations and player responsibilities. I also am not familiar with his past. What do you think?

 

[Folsom Al]

Agree .... although some people do LISTEN TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER and some people have shorter fuses than others

I believe PEOPLE CAN CHANGE ... heck I have, I used to be an obnoxious, arrogant, manipulative human-being.

Now I'm just an obnoxious human-being ..

 

[Jechtsphere]

Change? I guess, I never thought he was such a bad guy before ala T.O. like some compared him to.

But he's been great and I expect how he acts to continue as is.

 

[piksi]

He is a time bomb and I expect trouble but I will enjoy the ride while it last.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I thought he had mostly gotten his head together before he snapped last time, but he's also a year and a half older and wiser and since his record thing wasn't a huge success I think he knows that if he screws up again his livelihood will likely be cut short prematurely.

I always believed he was unfairly made the scapegoat in the Detroit incident and that most players would have reacted similarly if fans start throwing stuff at them on the court. He did actually walk away from Wallace and try to regain his composure when in years past he probably would have responded physically. The arena management and security got off way too easy by making Artest the face of the brawl.

 

[Bricklayer]

Not sure we'll ever be truly "safe" with Ron. Years could go by and you'll never truly be able to say there is no chance of something going wrong. And especially when the first bits of adversity hit it will be interesting/scary to see what happens. But so far so good. Its generally gone well, and Ron has done nothing of real concern. Hoping that Rick, who may not be here much longer, and the leadership role will help Ron keep it together. But only time will tell.

Almost more concerned with what/how people will react th first time he deos get wacky. I think with Ron you just need to ignore it and move on. If you make a mountain out of...well, even a mountain, it just gets worse and worse. He'll say somethign stupid eventually, and...well, its going to be important for the team and fans just to shrug it off rather than doing the Webebr inquisition thing. If they don't, the whole thing could go sour, and quick.

 

[KingCookie]

I chose the first option, simply because "he has been a model citizen and player"...doesn't mean I'm not apprehensive...I just thought he deserved much better than an "OK" for the job he's done since coming here.

 

[quick dog]

Agree .... although some people do LISTEN TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER and some people have shorter fuses than others

I believe PEOPLE CAN CHANGE ... heck I have, I used to be an obnoxious, arrogant, manipulative human-being.

Now I'm just an obnoxious human-being ..

Hey wait, that's my story.

 

[sloter]

It's all good while the things have been going relatively well for the Kings. Problems start when the team starts playing poorly. Let's hope we don't have to find out how Artest will act then...

 

[bozzwell]

I am not worried about Ron. Ron is Ron, always was. I am more worried about Aileen Posion starting an anti-Ron campaign a la Webber, at the first sight of trouble for the team. She is perfectly capable of dedicating the rest of her pathetic career to destroying Ron's the first time some of her "sources" confide in her that Ron is intimidating more feeble members of the ogranization with his constant and unrelenting intensity.

God knows, Ron is perfectly capable of providing headlines by his behaviour on and off the court and his often silly interviews. But in retrospect he never did anything that bad before and after the incident @Auburn Palace.

@ Chicago Ron never did anything "crazy" he just intimidated the life out of his idiot coaches and some teammated who did not even belong to the NBA.

@Indy, it seems that Ron's worst "sin" other then the obvious (the fight) was his pretensions on leadership and bigger role within the team. When it became obvious that while Rick's in charge and JO on the team Ron will never get a chance, he pulled a Pedja and demanded a trade as it is "the best for everyone". In retrospect both Pedja and Ron were 100% right. Pedja because he didn't have personality to lead and could not accept to step back down, and Ron because he is a leader. They both just needed a new start.

As far as I am concerned, if Ron says he wants to be like Kobe and TD, I say:

Ron for the President!

 

[BigWaxer]

I voted a bit apprehensive, but I will say that so far he has exceeded any expectations I had.

Who knows this might be the perfect fit/situation/COACH for him. He seems like a guy that doesn't want to be under a control freak but will take advice and suggestions. Most importantly he cares about team work and cares about winning. We need players with heart that get upset after a loss AKA Webb.

A few things I didn't think he would be was a really smart player. He definately exceeded in that catagory.

He shoots too many 3's when we are in trouble but I don't blame him when nobody else is step'n up. He is also a much better passer then I thought he was.

Overall I must give him a grade of an A- only because of his poor shot selection at times but very very good overall. I still think he is a bit rusty but I hear about his workouts. after game shooting so I think he will put up good better offensive numbers as time goes by.

I would love to have the heart of Artest in all our players.

 

[Kings113]

I'm not worried about Ron, he's shown he is matured, and still proving that. I picked the first choice.

 

[SacTownKid]

He'll be cool for at least the 2 years he is going to be here. And probably still cool the 6 years in Sac after that.

 

[Entity]

I will not vote and i almost don't want to post. But this is exactly what Ron wants to get away from. He is a Sacramento King and whats in the past is in the past. How can he get away from it if WE as fans of the Kings can't. Stop with the drudging up of Rons past and giving him conduct ratings. Whats done is done lets look at what he has done for us and relish in what he will do for us in the future.

 

[VF21]

Not talking about this would be like not talking about an elephant in your living room.

EVERYONE has been watching Artest since the moment he got here. I think the whole situation is becoming less tense and I give Artest a LOT of credit for that. And I agree wholeheartedly with BigWaxer:

I would love to have the heart of Artest in all our players.

GO KINGS!!!

 

[vj9999]

I honestly don't want to think about what is the next dumb thing RA will do and when he will do it. When it happens we will deal with it. For now, I'll enjoy the ride.

 

[ParniValjak]

tick! tock! tick! tock!