2008 Woodie Awards
Out of bounds
Artest a pest? I think not
David Penner
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Hey kids, guess who's back?
That's right, back for one more column in the wide, wide world of sports. It's yours truly. Anyway, I just thought I'd shed some light on one of my favorite topics-the NBA.
I could talk about the great performance Kobe Bryant had for the Lakers. In case you missed it, he dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors, but considering it was the Raptors, is anyone really that surprised? Trust me, it was bound to happen.
No, I do believe it is time to give a little thought to one of the league most infamous players, Ron Artest.
I love this guy. No one will ever remember him as being one of the most amazing defensive players in league history.
Unfortunately, Artest will be remembered as the loose cannon who went balistic in the Palace of Auburn Hills and beat drunken, deserving fans of the Detroit Pistons.
Like I said, you have got to love that kind of tenacity.
At any rate, in light of Artest turning down the Sacramento Kings offer to join them in exchange for Peja Stojakovic, it's time to play one of my favorite games, "Where Will Ron Go?"
Basically I'm going to pick some teams and discuss the likelihood of a trade and how well it would work.
Up first, is the Atlanta Hawks, the NBAs perrenial doormat.
Atlanta would package Artest with seldom used point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius for Tyronn Lue and Josh Smith.
This deal makes sense because the Pacers desperately need a point guard and Lue would be perfect.
Also Smith is an amazing athlete and learning from Jermaine O'Neal would be great for him.
It helps Artest because Atlanta could really use his defense.
Next on the list is the Los Angeles Lakers and Lamar Odom. This is the only conceivable straight up trade.
Although Odom has put up solid numbers this season, he is a better fit for an Eastern Conference team because of his versatility.
Artest, along with Bryant, would be great for Hollywood's team. How could one go wrong with that much ego on one court?
Minnesota would love to pick up some defensive help for first-year head coach Dwane Casey, and it would be nice to see someone else in a Timberwolves uniform, besides Kevin Garnett, actually play with passion.
Minnesota could dump Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi for Artest and center David Harrison.
The Pacers would get a scorer in Szczerbiak and another warm body to fill the bench, and the Timberwolves would get the defense they need.
Any way you look at it, Artest's skills as a defensive player are sorely-needed by other teams in the league.
The only problem is Artest wants to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there is no way Indiana is going to trade him to an Eastern Conference contender.
On that note, I'm out. Go Mules and Jennies.
That's right, back for one more column in the wide, wide world of sports. It's yours truly. Anyway, I just thought I'd shed some light on one of my favorite topics-the NBA.
I could talk about the great performance Kobe Bryant had for the Lakers. In case you missed it, he dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors, but considering it was the Raptors, is anyone really that surprised? Trust me, it was bound to happen.
No, I do believe it is time to give a little thought to one of the league most infamous players, Ron Artest.
I love this guy. No one will ever remember him as being one of the most amazing defensive players in league history.
Unfortunately, Artest will be remembered as the loose cannon who went balistic in the Palace of Auburn Hills and beat drunken, deserving fans of the Detroit Pistons.
Like I said, you have got to love that kind of tenacity.
At any rate, in light of Artest turning down the Sacramento Kings offer to join them in exchange for Peja Stojakovic, it's time to play one of my favorite games, "Where Will Ron Go?"
Basically I'm going to pick some teams and discuss the likelihood of a trade and how well it would work.
Up first, is the Atlanta Hawks, the NBAs perrenial doormat.
Atlanta would package Artest with seldom used point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius for Tyronn Lue and Josh Smith.
This deal makes sense because the Pacers desperately need a point guard and Lue would be perfect.
Also Smith is an amazing athlete and learning from Jermaine O'Neal would be great for him.
It helps Artest because Atlanta could really use his defense.
Next on the list is the Los Angeles Lakers and Lamar Odom. This is the only conceivable straight up trade.
Although Odom has put up solid numbers this season, he is a better fit for an Eastern Conference team because of his versatility.
Artest, along with Bryant, would be great for Hollywood's team. How could one go wrong with that much ego on one court?
Minnesota would love to pick up some defensive help for first-year head coach Dwane Casey, and it would be nice to see someone else in a Timberwolves uniform, besides Kevin Garnett, actually play with passion.
Minnesota could dump Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi for Artest and center David Harrison.
The Pacers would get a scorer in Szczerbiak and another warm body to fill the bench, and the Timberwolves would get the defense they need.
Any way you look at it, Artest's skills as a defensive player are sorely-needed by other teams in the league.
The only problem is Artest wants to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there is no way Indiana is going to trade him to an Eastern Conference contender.
On that note, I'm out. Go Mules and Jennies.