Artest to the Warriors Rumor
- Thread starter AC Transit
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Artest worth the risk, if Mullin gets chance
MIXING A BIT of madness with his genius, Billy Beane made his move, summoning the tortured and gifted Milton Bradley, a man as capable of sinking the A's as he is of lifting them.
Now it's Chris Mullin's turn.
Ron Artest is on the open market. He is better at basketball than Bradley is at baseball. So much so that, according to ESPN, 15 NBA teams have contacted the Indiana Pacers in hopes of striking a deal.
Should Mullin find a way to win this lottery, the Warriors finally would have someone to bring the level of toil and fury essential to winning.
These W's can't expect to go much beyond .500 until they find someone who brings that kind of intensity.
Artest is a massive risk, but so was Dennis Rodman, who won five championships, with two teams.
One rumor has Artest and reserve center Jeff Foster coming to Oakland for Adonal Foyle and Mike Dunleavy. The salaries match up. And Mullin spent three seasons playing for Indiana, during which time built an enduring relationship with Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh.
In the unlikely event Walsh signs off on this deal, Mullin should do it in a heartbeat.
Artest would instantly become the Warriors' best post defender, best rebounder in traffic, best lockdown defender and most determined competitor.
The downside? Strictly up to Artest's maturity level. Maybe I'm crazy, but if Mullin believes his team could absorb Artest, it might be worth it to offer any two Warriors other than Baron Davis and Jason Richardson.
Even if Artest were to wash out here, how much would be lost?
Though I like Foyle, the man, his court limitations cramp two of the Warriors' greatest strengths — coach Mike Montgomery's play-calling and Davis' creative playmaking.
And while Dunleavy might someday develop into the star the Warriors envisioned after the 2002 draft, he disappoints more than he satisfies.
Both Foyle and Dunleavy, whose combined contracts are worth $85 million, are polite and easygoing. They are representative of what is, for the most part, a collection of fine young men.
Which is a big part of the team's problem. The Warriors are too nice. Too soft. What little backbone they have showed up with Davis. As for the rest of the squad, you couldn't find the mean streak with a microscope.
Even the W's acknowledge as much. Or at least they did after blowing an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead to Houston this week, resulting in their third consecutive demoralizing home loss.
Derek Fisher, could this team use a little toughness?
"Yeah," he said. "But toughness comes in different ways.
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It's not about trying to start fights or anything. But when you allow teams to come into your building and win, yeah, you gotta get tough."
J-Rich, does this team need to get meaner and tougher?
"I think so," he said. "We're a little too nice right now. We lack guys who will get in anybody's face."
Coach Montgomery, care to evaluate your team's toughness?
"I'm not going to comment on that," he said before noting that all imperfect teams lack something.
A few weeks ago, though, while bemoaning his team's soft demeanor in a specific game, where it was beaten on the boards, to loose balls and, figuratively, to the punch, Montgomery pondered the possibility.
Asked if such meekness is just the nature of the roster, Montgomery paused.
"Could be," he said.
"Could be," he said again, ruefully, a few seconds later.
It was as if he longed for a player willing to bare his teeth, to jump atop opponents and keep jumping until the last horn sounds. Someone with a nasty side, cruel enough to rip the other team's spirit.
Soft teams without talent have a way of getting bullied throughout the game. Soft teams with talent, like the Warriors, can stay close — until they're bullied at crunch time.
Phoenix, Detroit and Houston, three distinctly dissimilar squads, have come to Oakland over the past nine days and, in the final minutes, gotten abusive. The Warriors became victims.
Mullin surely knows his team's most glaring weaknesses are post presence and sheer ferocity. Artest offers some of the former and a frightening abundance of the latter.
Artest also is a load.
So Mully has his work cut out for him. No doubt owner Chris Cohan is deathly afraid of another public relations disaster; he still trembles over the Latrell Sprewell-P.J. Carlesimo incident.
But Artest seems worth the risk, certainly when considering the alternative. Especially if there is no one else available to bring what he can.
Monte Poole is a panelist on "The Last Honest Sports Show," Saturday evening at 6:30 and mid night, on UPN 44 (cable Channel 12). He can be reached at (510) 208-6461 or by e-mail at
MIXING A BIT of madness with his genius, Billy Beane made his move, summoning the tortured and gifted Milton Bradley, a man as capable of sinking the A's as he is of lifting them.
Now it's Chris Mullin's turn.
Ron Artest is on the open market. He is better at basketball than Bradley is at baseball. So much so that, according to ESPN, 15 NBA teams have contacted the Indiana Pacers in hopes of striking a deal.
Should Mullin find a way to win this lottery, the Warriors finally would have someone to bring the level of toil and fury essential to winning.
These W's can't expect to go much beyond .500 until they find someone who brings that kind of intensity.
Artest is a massive risk, but so was Dennis Rodman, who won five championships, with two teams.
One rumor has Artest and reserve center Jeff Foster coming to Oakland for Adonal Foyle and Mike Dunleavy. The salaries match up. And Mullin spent three seasons playing for Indiana, during which time built an enduring relationship with Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh.
In the unlikely event Walsh signs off on this deal, Mullin should do it in a heartbeat.
Artest would instantly become the Warriors' best post defender, best rebounder in traffic, best lockdown defender and most determined competitor.
The downside? Strictly up to Artest's maturity level. Maybe I'm crazy, but if Mullin believes his team could absorb Artest, it might be worth it to offer any two Warriors other than Baron Davis and Jason Richardson.
Even if Artest were to wash out here, how much would be lost?
Though I like Foyle, the man, his court limitations cramp two of the Warriors' greatest strengths — coach Mike Montgomery's play-calling and Davis' creative playmaking.
And while Dunleavy might someday develop into the star the Warriors envisioned after the 2002 draft, he disappoints more than he satisfies.
Both Foyle and Dunleavy, whose combined contracts are worth $85 million, are polite and easygoing. They are representative of what is, for the most part, a collection of fine young men.
Which is a big part of the team's problem. The Warriors are too nice. Too soft. What little backbone they have showed up with Davis. As for the rest of the squad, you couldn't find the mean streak with a microscope.
Even the W's acknowledge as much. Or at least they did after blowing an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead to Houston this week, resulting in their third consecutive demoralizing home loss.
Derek Fisher, could this team use a little toughness?
"Yeah," he said. "But toughness comes in different ways.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's not about trying to start fights or anything. But when you allow teams to come into your building and win, yeah, you gotta get tough."
J-Rich, does this team need to get meaner and tougher?
"I think so," he said. "We're a little too nice right now. We lack guys who will get in anybody's face."
Coach Montgomery, care to evaluate your team's toughness?
"I'm not going to comment on that," he said before noting that all imperfect teams lack something.
A few weeks ago, though, while bemoaning his team's soft demeanor in a specific game, where it was beaten on the boards, to loose balls and, figuratively, to the punch, Montgomery pondered the possibility.
Asked if such meekness is just the nature of the roster, Montgomery paused.
"Could be," he said.
"Could be," he said again, ruefully, a few seconds later.
It was as if he longed for a player willing to bare his teeth, to jump atop opponents and keep jumping until the last horn sounds. Someone with a nasty side, cruel enough to rip the other team's spirit.
Soft teams without talent have a way of getting bullied throughout the game. Soft teams with talent, like the Warriors, can stay close — until they're bullied at crunch time.
Phoenix, Detroit and Houston, three distinctly dissimilar squads, have come to Oakland over the past nine days and, in the final minutes, gotten abusive. The Warriors became victims.
Mullin surely knows his team's most glaring weaknesses are post presence and sheer ferocity. Artest offers some of the former and a frightening abundance of the latter.
Artest also is a load.
So Mully has his work cut out for him. No doubt owner Chris Cohan is deathly afraid of another public relations disaster; he still trembles over the Latrell Sprewell-P.J. Carlesimo incident.
But Artest seems worth the risk, certainly when considering the alternative. Especially if there is no one else available to bring what he can.
Monte Poole is a panelist on "The Last Honest Sports Show," Saturday evening at 6:30 and mid night, on UPN 44 (cable Channel 12). He can be reached at (510) 208-6461 or by e-mail at
Artest Wants To Ruturn To The Pacers
NDIANAPOLIS -- Ron Artest doesn't want to be traded by the Indiana Pacers after all.
"I should have been a man and spoken with coach [Rick Carlisle] about my differences with him," Artest told the Indianapolis Star. "Yes, I would like to return to the team."
Artest said last weekend that his past in Indiana haunts him, and he is interested in being traded to the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mark Stevens, Artest's agent, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Artest holds out hope he can remain with the Pacers.
"At this moment, we're not going to put the buggy before the horse," Stevens said. "We're waiting to hear from [Pacers president] Donnie Walsh, the gentleman and scholar that he is, and hope this can be resolved to where there won't have to be a trade."
Teammate Stephen Jackson said Artest called him Friday night, and hopes his teammate will return.
"He wants to play basketball, that's all he wants to do," Jackson said before the Pacers played the New York Knicks. "He wants to play basketball, he wants to win.
"I think he wants to play basketball with us. He loves his teammates, he has no problems with his teammates."
It might be too late. ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan reported Friday that Walsh is "encouraged" by the quality of the offers he has received for Artest, including what he said were at least two proposals involving All-Star caliber players.
Without being specific about any of the 12-15 offers he said he had received, Walsh told ESPN.com he had heard from 20 teams, some of which merely called to ask what Walsh was looking for. Walsh said he was planning to get back to three of those teams to make specific requests.
"I've talked to a lot of teams, discussed myriad types of offers. Some are player for player, some involve first-round draft picks, some involve savings, some involve a combination of those things," Walsh said. "I'm encouraged by some of the things we were offered."
He would not set a timetable for trading Artest, though he did concede: "I'd like to get it behind us, but I don't feel any [time] pressure to do it. I'd like to winnow it down to two or three deals I'd like to do."
Artest triggered a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans in November 2004 and was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs. Walsh said the latest incident was "the last straw of a lot of issues."
Jackson also was suspended for the brawl.
"I almost lost my job for him last year, so that's my friend," Jackson said. "So I respect his decision, whatever he feels, he feels."
Stevens said Walsh told him he is prepared to make Artest inactive with pay for the rest of the season if he can't find a suitable trade.
"I understand the frustration as a general manager, dealing with the past incidents with Ron, and I can understand if he sees fit to do that," Stevens said.
The NBA fined Artest $10,000 Thursday for making public statements detrimental to the NBA.
Artest was a key component on a team expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He leads the league in steals and is the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game.
He said he was unhappy playing in coach Rick Carlisle's system. Carlisle said any decision regarding Artest's return would be left up to Walsh and Larry Bird.
"Right now, this is a franchise decision and fortunately for us it's in the hands of Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird, who are two of the best basketball people that there's ever been in this league," Carlisle said. "So they'll decide which is the best way to go.
"We built an entire system around him and Jermaine O'Neal and I'm disappointed because I've been one of his biggest supporters. But this situation has gotten to where it is."
NDIANAPOLIS -- Ron Artest doesn't want to be traded by the Indiana Pacers after all.
"I should have been a man and spoken with coach [Rick Carlisle] about my differences with him," Artest told the Indianapolis Star. "Yes, I would like to return to the team."
Artest said last weekend that his past in Indiana haunts him, and he is interested in being traded to the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mark Stevens, Artest's agent, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Artest holds out hope he can remain with the Pacers.
"At this moment, we're not going to put the buggy before the horse," Stevens said. "We're waiting to hear from [Pacers president] Donnie Walsh, the gentleman and scholar that he is, and hope this can be resolved to where there won't have to be a trade."
Teammate Stephen Jackson said Artest called him Friday night, and hopes his teammate will return.
"He wants to play basketball, that's all he wants to do," Jackson said before the Pacers played the New York Knicks. "He wants to play basketball, he wants to win.
"I think he wants to play basketball with us. He loves his teammates, he has no problems with his teammates."
It might be too late. ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan reported Friday that Walsh is "encouraged" by the quality of the offers he has received for Artest, including what he said were at least two proposals involving All-Star caliber players.
Without being specific about any of the 12-15 offers he said he had received, Walsh told ESPN.com he had heard from 20 teams, some of which merely called to ask what Walsh was looking for. Walsh said he was planning to get back to three of those teams to make specific requests.
"I've talked to a lot of teams, discussed myriad types of offers. Some are player for player, some involve first-round draft picks, some involve savings, some involve a combination of those things," Walsh said. "I'm encouraged by some of the things we were offered."
He would not set a timetable for trading Artest, though he did concede: "I'd like to get it behind us, but I don't feel any [time] pressure to do it. I'd like to winnow it down to two or three deals I'd like to do."
Artest triggered a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans in November 2004 and was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs. Walsh said the latest incident was "the last straw of a lot of issues."
Jackson also was suspended for the brawl.
"I almost lost my job for him last year, so that's my friend," Jackson said. "So I respect his decision, whatever he feels, he feels."
Stevens said Walsh told him he is prepared to make Artest inactive with pay for the rest of the season if he can't find a suitable trade.
"I understand the frustration as a general manager, dealing with the past incidents with Ron, and I can understand if he sees fit to do that," Stevens said.
The NBA fined Artest $10,000 Thursday for making public statements detrimental to the NBA.
Artest was a key component on a team expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He leads the league in steals and is the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game.
He said he was unhappy playing in coach Rick Carlisle's system. Carlisle said any decision regarding Artest's return would be left up to Walsh and Larry Bird.
"Right now, this is a franchise decision and fortunately for us it's in the hands of Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird, who are two of the best basketball people that there's ever been in this league," Carlisle said. "So they'll decide which is the best way to go.
"We built an entire system around him and Jermaine O'Neal and I'm disappointed because I've been one of his biggest supporters. But this situation has gotten to where it is."
