SacBee: Artest sits on bench for final game

Revrag

Father, Husband, KingsFan
Staff member
Administrator
Contributor
The last balls bounced by Ron Artest in the 2007-08 season came when it didn't count, as he took shot after shot on the Staples Center floor a half-hour before gametime.

More...
 
“According to numerous team sources, Artest – who has been battling a left thumb injury – asked to play and was rebuffed by Kings coach Reggie Theus.”

I’m really suprised that Reggie didn’t play Ron. But I’m glad Ron sat this one out. He needs to rest his thumb. He really needs to take care of his body.

"I told coach … asked him if he wanted me to sacrifice some of my time for the young guys," he said. "He said no."

I’m no coach, and I’m sure there’s a reason why Reggie wanted Ron to play, but I think it was better for him to rest himself / get surgery if needed / fix that screw / whatever it is and allow the other guys on the team to get some experience.

“[Kenny] is expected to be traded or bought out this summer.”

I would be really surprised if 1. Kenny is bought out 2. If we can find some wonderful team to take him (without getting a worse player in return).
 
I won't be surprised at all if he's bought out. Quite frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. My guess is the front office was hoping/praying/dreaming that someone/anyone would make any kind of offer...
 
I won't be surprised at all if he's bought out. Quite frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. My guess is the front office was hoping/praying/dreaming that someone/anyone would make any kind of offer...

My thoughts exactly. In fact I wouldn't look for him to be bought out until the last minute this offseason while seeking out a sucker.
 
My thoughts exactly. In fact I wouldn't look for him to be bought out until the last minute this offseason while seeking out a team better suited to his unique style and specific player needs.

Fixed.
 
I will be quite pissed if Kenny gets bought out.

I say we should let him rot on the bench until his last season where he can be some sort of a valuable expiring trading chip.

Once bought out that chance goes away completly...

I mean as a 15th man...Who really cares?
 
Unless I'm mistaken, Thomas would still count against our cap, even if we buy him out. In which case, his only value is as an expiring in 2010.
 
Unless I'm mistaken, Thomas would still count against our cap, even if we buy him out. In which case, his only value is as an expiring in 2010.

Yep. buying him out might save us a few million $$$ over a couple years, but then we no longer have the expiring to trade away.
 
A couple of things in this article surprise me.

1) Reggie has been pushing Ron to play a lot of minutes, not the other way around? What happened to Reggie's statement that when he puts a player in, the player decides how long he's playing? And what of Ron's complaints about how playing the younger guys meant painful losses? I'm not saying it's one thing or the other, but... something here just doesn't add up.

2) In a debate on the merits of buying out KT some months ago, I spoke in favor of buying him out, but after looking over the rules involved, the timing, and so on, I had to concede that it was really too late to get much benefit much from doing so, as opposed to trading him as an ender. We're going to be starting out the season with a bunch of empty seats as it is, not counting Kenny we only have 10 players signed for next year. Doing this so late seems pretty pointless to me, and I was the one arguing in favor of buying him out.

:confused:
 
Last edited:
Back
Top