Ron Artest to Houston?

by Jim Weeks on Jul 30, 2008 12:26 PM EDT in Green Bandwagon Comment 2 comments

I was working on my preview of the Russian National Team (goes live tomorrow!) when I stumbled upon the news that Ron Artest is headed to Houston. It is not official and won't be for a while because of Donte' Green's rookie contract. However, that doesn't mean I can't have some quick reactions:

1. Artest is only 28. I feel like he's been around forever.

2. On the surface Tracy McGrady is out of excuses as far as getting out of the first round. Still a lot of things could go wrong.

3. I read a magazine article once where Artest talked about how a guy has to play if he wants a max deal. It involved a lot of shots and not necessarily team basketball. That might concern some Rockets fans as Artest could gun for a new deal.

4. Not too long ago Ron Artest said that not opting out of his contract was a mistake. As a result his current situation is somewhat similar to Bonzi Wells' from a few years ago. Remember Wells got some awful advice and ended up leaving a lot of money on the table. While their cases are not exactly the same, both Artest and Wells went from Sacramento to Houston, after some poor decisions. Just throwing that out there. And who was Wells eventually traded for - Bobby Jackson. As a side note, in searching the SB Nation player data base I came across a Bobby Brown. Awesome.

5. As expected Sactown Royalty is all over this. Check out The Dream Shake too.

6. Seriously, if Artest is on his best behavior and if Houston's health holds up - 2 big ifs by the way, the Rockets will be fantastic.

7. Are we officially in the golden era of NBA trades? Seriously the last year or so has been unbelievable. Great times.

Ron-artest_medium

via www.detroitbadboys.com

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great pickup

I love Artest. I wanted the Celtics to get him when he was coming off suspension (before Sacramento did). In my mind, he has everything that you could ever want on the court. He has all of the toughness intangibles of a guy like Shane Battier (scrappy, great defender, great rebounder, hustle guy) and on top of that he’s way more skilled than I think a lot of people give him credit for.

If Yao Ming can stay healthy for a whole season, this team is dangerous. Does he get hurt because he’s so tall? Do bones that long break more easily?

by roomofzen on Jul 31, 2008 2:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yao's Health

I read Operation Yao Ming last summer. Good read. And I’ll have to look it over again but some of the practice sessions Yao had in his youth were simply outrageous. And there are some unexplained supplement stuff too. And when big guys start to deal with injury it tends to become chronic – Walton, Bowie, etc. But in the end I’m not sure what he deal is entirely.

Green Bandwagon: Celtics '08 or bust. Are you on the bandwagon?

by Jim Weeks on Jul 31, 2008 4:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs