This is an interesting column from the Indy Star. Since there are clearly a lot of trade-Peja-for-Artest proponents on Kingsfans, I thought it might be interesting to introduce them to the opinion of one of their counterparts in Indiana. Here is the article and the link. (Also, if one of the moderators thinks this should not be its own thread, feel free to merge it with existing trade threads. I think more people will read the article if it is at the start of a thread).
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051211/COLUMNISTS01/512110516/1004/SPORTS
Bob Kravitz
Tick-tock: Time's up for Artest
Ron Artest can't come back now, not after this, not after saying he wants to get away from coach Rick Carlisle and go someplace where he can get bigger numbers and a fresh start.
He must be traded.
Now.
Artest, an incorrigible bum who should have been set free long ago, should not be allowed to spend another night soiling the uniform of the Indiana Pacers.
If he wants out -- and he made that abundantly clear when he spoke with The Star's Mike Wells -- then the Pacers must accommodate him, and accommodate him immediately.
Before he destroys a second straight season.
Before he further poisons what has often been a toxic locker room.
If Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh don't do something dramatic and immediate, they are completely asleep at the wheel -- something they've long been guilty of when it involves Teflon Ron.
If Artest is allowed back in that locker room, what would management be telling Carlisle? That it backs Artest? That Artest can say or do just about anything and be forgiven? If Artest is still here one week from now, Carlisle needs to give management an ultimatum:
It's him or me.
And it needs to be Carlisle.
The Pacers head coach rubs some people the wrong way -- former and current players have chafed under his micromanaging, run-the-play style -- but he wins every place he coaches and he wins under all kinds of circumstances. When Artest was gone last season, running a daddy day care and promoting his CD, Carlisle was doing one of the most remarkable coaching jobs in recent memory, taking the shell of a team to the second round of the playoffs.
If Artest is allowed to return, what would that say to the other players in the locker room? The ones who presumably care more about winning a title than getting their statistics? The ones who spent all last season fighting through suspensions and injuries and playing some of the most inspiring, unselfish basketball this team has played in years?
If it wasn't obvious to Pacers' management long ago, it should be now: The guy is a hopeless case. He's a wonderful basketball player who possesses great passion for the game, but, ultimately, he is a team-killer, a selfish lout who says one thing and does another.
Anybody remember how, during the whole contrived Ron Across America Tour, he made a point of committing himself to the team, insisting he would happily sacrifice his numbers for the greater good?
That lasted, what, three months?
Now, he's saying he wants to play the role of Kobe, or LeBron, or maybe Gilbert Arenas, "to maximize my opportunity of my potential."
The "Real Ron,'' indeed.
Anybody remember how, during that same tour, he made a point of thanking the Pacers for all their patience and understanding, and how, in return, he owed them nothing less than a championship?
Now he's saying (and please don't snicker as you read this one), "I don't think everybody is treated the same way around here,'' and "I think they will be a better team without me."
After all this organization has done for him -- supported (enabled) him, counseled him, even lied for him -- this was his way of showing gratitude.
Thanks, Ron.
And good riddance.
If ever there was a time to pull the trigger on an Artest-for-Peja Stojakovic deal, this is it. The question, though, is whether the Sacramento Kings are now willing to make it happen. In the past, they've been reticent to part with the popular Stojakovic, but the Kings are struggling and look like a team in desperate need of a change.
Somehow, some way, Bird and Walsh have to make a deal, or do whatever it takes to get Artest out of here. Even if they can't get equal value for him -- and if it's not a deal for Stojakovic, it's unlikely they'll get good value -- it doesn't matter. Get a bent rim. And a slug to be named later. Anything. Cut the franchise's losses.
In the end, Artest didn't make this mess, even if he's the one with dirt on his hands. It's like the Chris Rock routine when the comic says the tiger who attacked Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy didn't go crazy.
"That tiger went tiger," Rock said.
In this case, Artest went Artest.
The Pacers knew what they were getting when they dealt for him. And they've been front-row spectators to the running psychodrama ever since. So how could they have failed to see that it would eventually come to this? They knew -- knew -- he was a ticking time bomb and would eventually take the entire franchise with him. But still, three of the best basketball men in the league -- Bird, Walsh and Carlisle -- sat by idly and let it happen. They believed their own fiction because they wanted to believe it, because when Artest is right, he's a great player and an even greater bargain.
Now they are going to pay again for placing their faith in him, forced to deal him at a time when it will be next-to-impossible to get any kind of value for him.
The Pacers cannot complain, though. They lost that right a long time ago. This is their mess, and now, it's time to clean it up.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail bob.kravitz@indystar.com.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051211/COLUMNISTS01/512110516/1004/SPORTS
Bob Kravitz
Tick-tock: Time's up for Artest
Ron Artest can't come back now, not after this, not after saying he wants to get away from coach Rick Carlisle and go someplace where he can get bigger numbers and a fresh start.
He must be traded.
Now.
Artest, an incorrigible bum who should have been set free long ago, should not be allowed to spend another night soiling the uniform of the Indiana Pacers.
If he wants out -- and he made that abundantly clear when he spoke with The Star's Mike Wells -- then the Pacers must accommodate him, and accommodate him immediately.
Before he destroys a second straight season.
Before he further poisons what has often been a toxic locker room.
If Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh don't do something dramatic and immediate, they are completely asleep at the wheel -- something they've long been guilty of when it involves Teflon Ron.
If Artest is allowed back in that locker room, what would management be telling Carlisle? That it backs Artest? That Artest can say or do just about anything and be forgiven? If Artest is still here one week from now, Carlisle needs to give management an ultimatum:
It's him or me.
And it needs to be Carlisle.
The Pacers head coach rubs some people the wrong way -- former and current players have chafed under his micromanaging, run-the-play style -- but he wins every place he coaches and he wins under all kinds of circumstances. When Artest was gone last season, running a daddy day care and promoting his CD, Carlisle was doing one of the most remarkable coaching jobs in recent memory, taking the shell of a team to the second round of the playoffs.
If Artest is allowed to return, what would that say to the other players in the locker room? The ones who presumably care more about winning a title than getting their statistics? The ones who spent all last season fighting through suspensions and injuries and playing some of the most inspiring, unselfish basketball this team has played in years?
If it wasn't obvious to Pacers' management long ago, it should be now: The guy is a hopeless case. He's a wonderful basketball player who possesses great passion for the game, but, ultimately, he is a team-killer, a selfish lout who says one thing and does another.
Anybody remember how, during the whole contrived Ron Across America Tour, he made a point of committing himself to the team, insisting he would happily sacrifice his numbers for the greater good?
That lasted, what, three months?
Now, he's saying he wants to play the role of Kobe, or LeBron, or maybe Gilbert Arenas, "to maximize my opportunity of my potential."
The "Real Ron,'' indeed.
Anybody remember how, during that same tour, he made a point of thanking the Pacers for all their patience and understanding, and how, in return, he owed them nothing less than a championship?
Now he's saying (and please don't snicker as you read this one), "I don't think everybody is treated the same way around here,'' and "I think they will be a better team without me."
After all this organization has done for him -- supported (enabled) him, counseled him, even lied for him -- this was his way of showing gratitude.
Thanks, Ron.
And good riddance.
If ever there was a time to pull the trigger on an Artest-for-Peja Stojakovic deal, this is it. The question, though, is whether the Sacramento Kings are now willing to make it happen. In the past, they've been reticent to part with the popular Stojakovic, but the Kings are struggling and look like a team in desperate need of a change.
Somehow, some way, Bird and Walsh have to make a deal, or do whatever it takes to get Artest out of here. Even if they can't get equal value for him -- and if it's not a deal for Stojakovic, it's unlikely they'll get good value -- it doesn't matter. Get a bent rim. And a slug to be named later. Anything. Cut the franchise's losses.
In the end, Artest didn't make this mess, even if he's the one with dirt on his hands. It's like the Chris Rock routine when the comic says the tiger who attacked Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy didn't go crazy.
"That tiger went tiger," Rock said.
In this case, Artest went Artest.
The Pacers knew what they were getting when they dealt for him. And they've been front-row spectators to the running psychodrama ever since. So how could they have failed to see that it would eventually come to this? They knew -- knew -- he was a ticking time bomb and would eventually take the entire franchise with him. But still, three of the best basketball men in the league -- Bird, Walsh and Carlisle -- sat by idly and let it happen. They believed their own fiction because they wanted to believe it, because when Artest is right, he's a great player and an even greater bargain.
Now they are going to pay again for placing their faith in him, forced to deal him at a time when it will be next-to-impossible to get any kind of value for him.
The Pacers cannot complain, though. They lost that right a long time ago. This is their mess, and now, it's time to clean it up.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail bob.kravitz@indystar.com.
Lowers his trade value, the Pacers get screwed, but he ends up on a team that has had to trade away less talent than it would have otherwise + he has a better chance to win.... 
