Ron Artest requests trade, will represent himself

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>LAS VEGAS -- Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest joined teammates Kevin Martin, Beno Udrih and Shareef Abdur-Rahim as celebrity spectators for the Kings' first game in the NBA Summer League on the campus of UNLV.

But Artest isn't feeling like a King.

Ron Artest

Artest

In a series of e-mails he sent to ESPN.com late Saturday and early Sunday, Artest continued to lament his decision to pass on an opportunity to become a free agent July 1 by announcing that he is now representing himself without an agent and expressing hope that he will soon be traded to "a team out there that can be more committed than Sacramento to me."

That team is believed to be the Los Angeles Lakers. Almost from the minute they were routed by the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals -- which Artest attended in Boston to root for friends Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom -- it has been strongly expected throughout the league that the Lakers would revisit their longstanding trade interest in Artest and eventually acquire the enigmatic forward sometime this summer to address the defense and toughness issues that the Celtics exposed.

But NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Sunday that the Lakers -- fond as they are of Artest and confident as they are that they can get the best out of him through Phil Jackson's coaching and Artest's respect for Bryant -- are reluctant to part with Odom in an Artest swap. That stance, if the Lakers hold firm, would almost certainly prompt Sacramento to look elsewhere for a trade partner.

The most consistent trade chatter involving Artest suggests that the Kings would want Odom in return for Artest and Kings forward Kenny Thomas.</div>
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Interesting story. There are a lot of teams who would be willing to give some nice pieces for Artest. The Spurs were rumored to be interested and need that athletic SF since they lost out on signing Corey Maggette. Only problem is finding something they can give that the Kings would want. Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker aren't going anywhere, Bowen and Oberto are too old to have much value to a non-contender and the rest of the contracts are too small to trade for Artest + Kenny Thomas.

For some reason I also envision the Raptors being a force in the east if they acquired Artest. Calderon, Parker, Artest, Bosh, JO is pretty sick. Dunno if Colangelo has any interest but they have some pieces in Bargs, Kapono, Garbajosa' expiring contract, Delfino, Moon, and picks. Its a little risky because Artest is such a nutcase but hes only on a one year deal.

Cleveland could be another darkhorse. They're desperate to get quality players next to Bron and they have a lot of expiring contracts with Szcerbiak, Eric Snow, Joe Smith, and Damon Jones combining for about 30 million in expiring contracts. Plus they have Varejao who is moveable and probably wouldn't be too opposed to give future picks.