NBA discussion thread

Artest helps any team instantly its just his mental makeup that has scared alot of GM's away. If he can keep a low profile then the Kings are in business, the trio of Bibby, Artest and Miller could work really well. Especially if they run their motion offence, Artest complained that he didnt get the ball enough in Indiana but as long as he is making cuts in the Kings offence he'll see plenty of the ball.
Im glad you rate Hubie so highly Dr, the man is the basketball version of Yoda.
Dan, im sure you would like Artest on your team. Can you imagine the Sixers perimeter D with Artest and Iggy? Scary.

Originally posted by koolruningz
Artest helps any team instantly its just his mental makeup that has scared alot of GM's away. If he can keep a low profile then the Kings are in business, the trio of Bibby, Artest and Miller could work really well.

Too bad that's not going to happen.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304512

Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove
Well Zeke, you still have a shot.

Kings are pussies.

Wait, its rejected? LOL I thought it was a done deal.

The Sixers probaly won't go after him though. Our GM says VERY hesitant.

AI
Iggy
Artest
Dalembert
Webber
Korver off the bench

=

😱

But then again, who would we trade for him? If Iggy goes, I'll kill the GM. Maybe Webber? After what he's been saying about AI and all.

Jeez that sucks for you man. Artest needs to shut up and be happy he was gonna get a chance to play ball again. Its not like he was going to the Hawks, now he is back in the dog house and who knows when he'll play again.
Peja is gonna play even worse now, something like that will shatter his already fragile confidence.
Looks like you may be in with a shot after all DanZeke.

Originally posted by DanZeke25
Wait, its rejected? LOL I thought it was a done deal.

The Sixers probaly won't go after him though. Our GM says VERY hesitant.

AI
Iggy
Artest
Dalembert
Webber
Korver off the bench

=

😱

But then again, who would we trade for him? If Iggy goes, I'll kill the GM. Maybe Webber? After what he's been saying about AI and all.

No way can you get Artest for C-Webb, Webbers contract is huge compared to Ron's. Thats one of the reasons the trade has taken so long because Artest's contract is so small compared to the players you could match with him skill wise. Im not even sure how Artest's and Pejas contracts matched up come to think of it, i thought Peja made alot more than him.

As much as Artest is being a stupid idiot, the Kings are being even stupider.

So Artest says he doesn't want to player here...Who cares? Webber didn't want to play hear at the start and look how that turned out. Now Webber isn't a headcase like Artest but still, even though I'm not a huge fan, Aldeman is an excellent player coach. He's coached blockheads before and none have given much trouble. He's as close a coach who would be able to meet Artest's demands.

And it's not like this team is out of the playoffs. They've sucked this first half but they're still only 3 games out of the 8th.

I need some Tylenol.

Originally posted by koolruningz
No way can you get Artest for C-Webb, Webbers contract is huge compared to Ron's. Thats one of the reasons the trade has taken so long because Artest's contract is so small compared to the players you could match with him skill wise. Im not even sure how Artest's and Pejas contracts matched up come to think of it, i thought Peja made alot more than him.

Peja contract is pretty servicable. It's at 7 mill for this last year.

Really? Well i think Artest is about the same so they obviously could have got that done. Artest for Webber though wouldnt work, you'd probably have to throw Pollard or Croshere in as well (which Indy would never do for Webber).

artest got traded for PEJA!!!

Dude read what has been writen above. You miss alot if you just type and run.

Heres a cool article which i think sums up the "love him or hate him" mentality towards Kobe, worth a read if you have the time.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5272520

Well the trade might not be dead. Looks like the media jumped the gun.

Stay tuned...

I personally wouldn't take the trade if I were Kings. Sure, Peja sucks a big donkey dong, but Artest is a risk that only a borderline championship team should take. If Kings pick up Artest and he cooperates, the best the Kings will do is 2nd round of playoffs (at best!). Add in the fact that the chemistry of the Kings is already off. The Kings are one of the most inconsistant teams in the league right now and that has always been a sign of bad chemistry. Not only that, there has already been articles about how Bibby and Miller are segragated from the group as the "old guys" from those like Martin and Garcia. You add in Artest who everybody will be tip-toeing around and you have even worse chemistry problems. All that risk for maybe 2nd round playoffs? Not only that, if Artest flips out again or Sacramento wants to trade him for any reason at all, no team will take him because they will have already witnessed that a change of scenary didn't help like many think it might. Somebody said, in a situation like that, he'll only be in contract for a year and a half. A year and a half can seem like a long time with Artest. Just ask the Pacers.

artest is the one that rejected the deal.... wasnt he??

detroit baby detriot!!.....if billups gets snubbed from another allstar i'm gonna be pissed.....detriots gonna roll right throught the season and playoffs, i dont see a teamn that can hang with them...there playing waaaay better than last year, and even better than when they beat the lakers in th championship, i cant wait for the playoffs!! as long as they stay healthy, its over!

kool, interesting article. is kobe that hated in the usa? i neither hate him, nor love him. as a basketball player, i certainly respect what the guy has done. i'm still not sure about mvp... if they get to the playoffs? maybe then. otherwise i dont think he should. i think elton brand mite have been in with a good chance of the honours had the clippers kept winning, nevermind though. do the lakers have much cap room at the end of the season to chase any decent players?

Originally posted by darth_royke
kool, interesting article. is kobe that hated in the usa? i neither hate him, nor love him. as a basketball player, i certainly respect what the guy has done. i'm still not sure about mvp... if they get to the playoffs? maybe then. otherwise i dont think he should. i think elton brand mite have been in with a good chance of the honours had the clippers kept winning, nevermind though. do the lakers have much cap room at the end of the season to chase any decent players?

I will answer your first question with a question. If any other player in the league scored 81 in the same fashion Kobe did (bringing his team back from 19 pts down) would he be getting the type of negative press i have been reading the last couple of days?
In answer to your second question, the Lakers are handcuffed for a couple more seasons with cap space. Mainly because of Shaq's contract, when he was traded he brought in Odom (10mil+) Grant (about the same) who we still pay even though he is in Phoenix and Butler (who was traded for Kwame). This along with Kobe's contract means we dont have much of a chance until 2008 to land an impact free agent (most of which have resigned - Amare, Yao). If only our GM was as savy as me in NBA Live06, i traded Walton and Cook for Ridnour and Sasha and Odom for Pierce. Both of whoms contracts expire this year, virtual GM of the year for me.
I think thats why alot of people want Artest in Lakerland, he is relatively cheap when you consider how good he is the only risk is his metal state. I think the Lakers are only a few role players away from advancing deep into the playoff, spot up shooters are a must along with some toughness and shot blocking inside. I look at Jordans great Bulls teams and they all had great shooters (Paxon, Armstrong, Kerr and who could forget the great Judd Bushler) and a inside presence (Grant, Rodman) to win their titles. I dont think Odom is anywhere near Pippens level or that Kobe is at Jordans level but obviously Phil is using that same Bulls team as a blueprint for this Lakers outfit.
Sorry for rambling, once i start talking about the Lakers it hard for me to stop.
😮

kool, its good to listen to u ramble about the team you love. i agre though, if the lakers can get some more reliable spot up shooters they may just do well. jud beuchler most unerrated player ever? i cant remember how many times i've seen him nail a 3 off after not playing most of the game, he had hops too. i remember a great alley oop against miami in teh 97 or 98 playoffs, who lobbed it i cant remember... but judd caught it and smashed it in.

that is true kool. if it had been wade, lebron etc then it would have been the prohecy... but it was kobe. i see completely where you're coming from. did it have to be against my raptors though?🙁 ah well, at least they got good seats lol

At least the Raptors took it with some class and gave props where it was deserved. Antoine Walker said that if someone tried to score 80 on him he would clothesline them, yeah that would be the first time you've played defense dude. Snaq gave the obligatory "no comment" and told his teammates to get him 50 shots and see how many he scores, im guessing with his inability to shoots 3's or free throws and his conditioning it wouldnt be much.
Like i said if anyone does this its nothing but love. In fairness a high percentage of articles and comments i've read have been positive as they should be. It was a one off performance and certainly not a recipe for the way to win every game this season. I just hope that the rest of the players can step up and play with the energy that Kobe does. Odom has got to wake up and stop standing at the 3pt line watching, Smush has got to D up (he is good at getting steals but he gambles too much and usually helps the opposing PG go for career nights) and Kwame and Mihm need to dunk the damn ball every time they get near the rim. I am sick of seeing bricked layups for 2/3 ft out, as Bill Walton would say "throw it down big man, throw it down".

you did not just quote bill walton 😆 i know your upset about the lakers not having any support for kobe but that is no excuse for quoting the biggest dipshit of all time...if there was an allstar team of dipshits than the lineup would be nothing but Waltons, and Bill as the captain