<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Jul 29 2008, 08:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Chalk me up as another one that would prefer Battier over Artest. I just would have no confidence in Artest's ability to stay sane over the course of a season. And really what is Houston's major weakness, other than Yao/McGrady's health?</div> My guess: shot blocking from PF, another playmaker to take pressure off of Tmac.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I doubt this move makes Houston a contender. I'd still like to see Yao stay healthy for a full season. I think this deal would put you guys outside of the Lakers, New Orleans, and San Antonio. You'd be right there with Utah, IMO.</div> If healthy I'd say we're better than the Spurs and Jazz for sure, and I'm not sold on the Lakers just yet after what I saw in the finals.........our perimeter defense will be the best in the NBA with Artest and Battier
They would be smart to try to move him-possibly package him with alston- for a better starting PG. Hinrich? If not Battier would be an excellent 6th man..That team looks dangerous as the West only gets tougher. Good trade, great value and a great talent..They got their third star.
Were the Rockets even in the running for Artest? This a big move for them, and makes them a whole lot more dangerous. Had the Mavs decided to deal Josh Howard, Ronny would of been in Dallas.
Artest, when good, is a much better scorer and no worse a defender than Battier. Battier's a big guy who can play both SG and SF and is a fine 3pt shooter. I see room for both on the team. You never know if you're going to really need that depth for a good chunk of the season.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga @ Jul 29 2008, 08:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I can't say if I would choose Artest or Battier, because while Artest is a total nutcase this decision is being made solely to catapult Yao and Tmac into...the second round (giggles). What I can say is that I'd rather have both Artest and Battier. Good trade for the Rockets.</div> I'd probably take Battier over Artest just because it seems like Artest is a whiny nut whose only major concern is that he gets 20 FGAs a game. He seems to have been perfectly happy in Sacramento when he was on a crappy team but got to shoot as much as he wanted. He has pretty bad shot selection and his high ppg numbers are bloated, if he was playing efficiently in a role he should be in (3rd option is ideal) his ppg would be down but he'd be a better player offensively. He'll say all the right things and he'll definitely bring it on defense but I don't see him being happy if Adelman really reigns in his FGAs and he could quickly get jealous of Yao/T-Mac. The idea of having both Battier and Artest is nice but would be a waste IMO. The Rockets have a lot of very good pieces but also have some big holes in their roster. Just doesn't make much sense to have two good, starting caliber players at the same position (both of are making starter money I might add). Especially when you have major needs at PG, backup C and one of your stars can play big minutes at SF as well. I'd probably try to shop Battier around just to gauge his value, see if I can get an upgrade at PG (Felton? Billups? Mo Williams? Hinrich?) and maybe add depth. Having gotten rid of Greene and the 09 pick, they're clearly going for it all right now so you can throw the MLE at someone or make multiple smaller signings.
http://sportstwo.com/NBA/Story/NBA/2718968 Report: Rockets set to acquire Artest from Kings Tuesday, July 29, 2008 09:24 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Rockets are close to acquiring mercurial forward Ron Artest in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday. Citing an NBA executive with knowledge of the deal, the newspaper reported that the teams reached an agreement that would send Artest to the Rockets for guard Bobby Jackson, a first-round pick next season and "another player that the individual with knowledge of the trade could not name." The Chronicle also said that because of contract considerations, the trade would not be announced until August 14, causing the newspaper to speculate that the deal could include Houston's No. 1 pick, Donte Greene, who cannot be traded until then - one month after he inked a deal with the Rockets. (MORE)
Great trade in my opinion, you bring in a tough defender who can also be an offensive force. This makes the top teams in the West: New Orleans, Lakers, and Houston, not in any particular order. Rockets being my 2nd favorite team, I'm really stoked. Can't wait to hear Yao's response.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DynastYWarrioR6 @ Jul 29 2008, 06:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Great trade in my opinion, you bring in a tough defender who can also be an offensive force. This makes the top teams in the West: New Orleans, Lakers, and Houston, not in any particular order. Rockets being my 2nd favorite team, I'm really stoked. Can't wait to hear Yao's response.</div> Yao's response? "Can't wait to get this cast off my leg so I can be on the court with him!"
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Dream @ Jul 29 2008, 08:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I doubt this move makes Houston a contender. I'd still like to see Yao stay healthy for a full season. I think this deal would put you guys outside of the Lakers, New Orleans, and San Antonio. You'd be right there with Utah, IMO.</div> If healthy I'd say we're better than the Spurs and Jazz for sure, and I'm not sold on the Lakers just yet after what I saw in the finals.........our perimeter defense will be the best in the NBA with Artest and Battier </div> Not sold on the Lakers? Nevermind the fact that they steam rolled through the Western Conference, that alone should make them favorites out of the west next year. The only team that can give them fits, and did, was and still is Boston, imo. For some reason I was thinking the Spurs got Maggette, too much beer maybe, but yeah I think you guys might be better than the Spurs now. The Jazz are a good team and will only get better, I don't know if you top them, yet.
Good trade for the Rockets I'm not really worried though. Although Artest is an excellent addition, Yao will get even fewer touches than he got before. Chemistry will definitely be a factor as well. Also, defensively, I'm not really shitting myself because Adelman has never been known as a being a great defense coach. Regardless though, this was an excellent trade by the Rockets. They're now up there with the Lakers, Hornets, and Spurs. Just hope they can stay healthy...
AP is reporting the player to be named is in fact Donte Greene so the final trade is: Bobby Jackson Donte Greene 2009 1st round pick (I assume lotto protected) cash for Ron Artest That's a steal for the Kings IMO. Expiring contract plus a great young player (was a top 10 talent in the draft IMO), PLUS a 2009 1st round pick PLUS cash. I doubt anyone else was offering anything near that for a one year rental of Ron Artest. Rockets got a good player but way overpaid.
I don't think it's overpaying. The Rockets got an excellent deal. They got one of the best defensive players in the league (when motivated) without trading anybody from their "core." Although I did forget about Ron's contract.... The Rockets better be willing to shell out some big bucks next year, because Ron is looking for a payday
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 29 2008, 09:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Good trade for the Rockets I'm not really worried though. Although Artest is an excellent addition, Yao will get even fewer touches than he got before. Chemistry will definitely be a factor as well. Also, defensively, I'm not really shitting myself because Adelman has never been known as a being a great defense coach. Regardless though, this was an excellent trade by the Rockets. They're now up there with the Lakers, Hornets, and Spurs. Just hope they can stay healthy...</div> He coached pretty good defensive teams in Portland and the Rockets were good defensively this past year. I think he gets a bum rap because of his stay in Sacramento, but that had as much to do with the players he was given as it did with his coaching style.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Jul 29 2008, 09:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>AP is reporting the player to be named is in fact Donte Greene so the final trade is: Bobby Jackson Donte Greene 2009 1st round pick (I assume lotto protected) cash for Ron Artest That's a steal for the Kings IMO. Expiring contract plus a great young player (was a top 10 talent in the draft IMO), PLUS a 2009 1st round pick PLUS cash. I doubt anyone else was offering anything near that for a one year rental of Ron Artest. Rockets got a good player but way overpaid.</div> The Rockets will have Bird Rights on Artest, right? It may not be just a 1-year rental. I look at it this way: before the draft, the Rockets parlayed their 25th pick into Donte Green, Joey Dorsey, and Memphis's 2nd rounder next year. Now, they've turned Donte Green and filler plus our 1st rounder for a legitimate "third scorer". I think our 1st rounder next year is roughly equivalent to Memphis's second rounder. Take that out of the equation, and we essentially turned our 25th pick and an expiring contract into Ron Artest and Joey Dorsey. That's pretty good. Props to Les Alexander for paying some extra cash to get the deal done, as he did last year.
Cool, maybe Donte will actually get minutes, now. Or not. Still, I don't think he would've gotten off the bench that much in Houston. Plus, Theus will be good for him, methinks.
Bird rights? I thought those were only for people on rookie contracts, no? I have no idea how that works out. I could've sworn that Artest was going to be an unrestricted FA next year though.
