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.
