Ron Artest Giveaway: Part 2
3. Minnesota Wolves
One of the frontrunners in the Ron Artest draw is also one of the quietest. Minnesota has expressed serious interest in the Pacer maverick but hasn’t made any offers. Szczerbiak for Artest seems logical except Wally makes $4 million more than Artest. To really tip the scales, Minnesota might have to take on Austin Chroshere, one of the highest-paid players in NBA history. Wolves have a lot of people to send, starting with C Michael Olowakandi. Although adding him with Szczerbiak might be too much baggage to take on. Also, if Minnesota makes the playoffs this year, they won’t have a first-round pick. They would surely have to offer some draft picks for Ron Artest and are currently in no position to do so.
2. Denver Nuggets
Ron Artest would be a better fit in Denver position-wise because the Nuggets’ only weak point is SF, where DeMarr Johnson and Greg Buckner play. Unfortunately for them, their No. 1 trade bait, Nene, is out for the year and an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Earl Watson has been in the trading block since day one, but he could leave Seattle before he has a chance to make it to India. Both Martin and Camby are injured at this time and will not be taken by Indiana. If it is enough it is unlikely. They are looking for third and fourth teams to participate in the deal and it will be hard to please everyone. They’ll have to offer an immediate player to replace Artest’s job at Indiana, which they can’t do at the moment. They will have to rely on other teams to pick up the slack in a multi-deal.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
Aaah, so after looking at all the teams, this is the one most likely to pick Artest. Of course, LA has never been immune to taking on any kind of controversy. No coach in the NBA is better prepared to order Artest around than Phil Jackson, whose zany zen just might work on Artest. After all, it was Jackson who got Rodman to work in Chicago. The main reason the Lakers are the No. 1 opportunity is that Kobe Bryant wants Ron Artest, and as Chucky Atkins said, “Kobe is the general manager.” Lamar Odom for Artest seemed unlikely at first as Jackson was on board with Odom’s production. But after Odom missed the key 3s in his games against Miami and Washington, Phil isn’t as enthusiastic about Odom anymore. Now the biggest negative to this deal would obviously be that Artest wants to be “the man” wherever he goes and Kobe takes 30 shots a game. But who said that Ron Artest and logic ever went together?
Rest assured, like TO, Artest will be good for about a year (if victory occurs). He’ll ruin any team he goes to, whether it’s Los Angeles or Denver. But that’s the risk. The teams on offer for him have nothing to lose. For LA, they have yet to justify letting Shaq go and would launch into contending again. Even getting Ron Artest isn’t as silly as letting Shaq go.
