SacKings4Life21
Bench
• The first (non-casino) letdown for summer-league goers in Sin City?
Ron Artest didn't play for the Sacramento Kings, after saying he would, in their 90-83 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Artest is still vowing to be a summer-leaguer, though. The Kings' latest expectation is that their mercurial swingman, who was scheduled to fly into Vegas Thursday night, is likely to join them for Friday's game against New Orleans/Oklahoma City. If not Friday, said Kings coach Eric Musselman, then Sunday's meeting with Bargnani's Raptors at the latest.
Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, one of the league's staunchest backers of Las Vegas as the future home for an NBA franchise, was thrilled to hear that Artest wants to play with Sacramento's rookies and free agents to stay sharp, scoffing at the notion Artest will be taking an unnecessary injury risk whenever he does make his debut here.
"Any time I get a chance to watch Ron play, I'm excited," Maloof said. "I remember going to watch him at Rucker Park [in New York] a couple years ago. He was playing with his brother and it was one of the most fun nights I've ever had watching basketball. When he's on the court, you can just sense the electricity.
"He's going to play basketball this summer no matter what. If he's not playing here, he's going to be playing in a playground-type situation, so I'd rather see him playing here."
Maloof also acknowledged that he closely followed events in Indianapolis, where Kings-ex Peja Stojakovic left the Pacers without compensation Saturday after verbally agreeing to sign a five-year deal with the Hornets worth more than $60 million. Fear of losing Stojakovic in the summer -- and getting nothing in return -- was one of the factors that prompted Sacramento to gamble on an Artest deal in January.
"We haven't had a single problem with him," Maloof said. "He's at the practice facility almost every day. He came to [the Maloof brothers'] basketball camp in Sacramento on the first day and spent three hours with the kids. I never knew he was this good. Everything he's done [since joining the Kings] has been fabulous.
"He's the face of our franchise. Before, when you said 'Sacramento Kings,' you would have thought of Chris Webber or Vlade Divac. Now it's Ron Artest."
This guy makes me smile. I know many people think he is just going to explode and ruin our franchise but right now he is our franchise and he is working his butt off to turn it around. Ron... "tear"
Ron Artest didn't play for the Sacramento Kings, after saying he would, in their 90-83 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Artest is still vowing to be a summer-leaguer, though. The Kings' latest expectation is that their mercurial swingman, who was scheduled to fly into Vegas Thursday night, is likely to join them for Friday's game against New Orleans/Oklahoma City. If not Friday, said Kings coach Eric Musselman, then Sunday's meeting with Bargnani's Raptors at the latest.
Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, one of the league's staunchest backers of Las Vegas as the future home for an NBA franchise, was thrilled to hear that Artest wants to play with Sacramento's rookies and free agents to stay sharp, scoffing at the notion Artest will be taking an unnecessary injury risk whenever he does make his debut here.
"Any time I get a chance to watch Ron play, I'm excited," Maloof said. "I remember going to watch him at Rucker Park [in New York] a couple years ago. He was playing with his brother and it was one of the most fun nights I've ever had watching basketball. When he's on the court, you can just sense the electricity.
"He's going to play basketball this summer no matter what. If he's not playing here, he's going to be playing in a playground-type situation, so I'd rather see him playing here."
Maloof also acknowledged that he closely followed events in Indianapolis, where Kings-ex Peja Stojakovic left the Pacers without compensation Saturday after verbally agreeing to sign a five-year deal with the Hornets worth more than $60 million. Fear of losing Stojakovic in the summer -- and getting nothing in return -- was one of the factors that prompted Sacramento to gamble on an Artest deal in January.
"We haven't had a single problem with him," Maloof said. "He's at the practice facility almost every day. He came to [the Maloof brothers'] basketball camp in Sacramento on the first day and spent three hours with the kids. I never knew he was this good. Everything he's done [since joining the Kings] has been fabulous.
"He's the face of our franchise. Before, when you said 'Sacramento Kings,' you would have thought of Chris Webber or Vlade Divac. Now it's Ron Artest."
This guy makes me smile. I know many people think he is just going to explode and ruin our franchise but right now he is our franchise and he is working his butt off to turn it around. Ron... "tear"
