<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"In the Pacers' closing meetings, it became clear that the team will consider trading Al Harrington. The backup forward has brooded all season about being the sixth man and has told friends he would ask for a trade after the season. Bird said Harrington was the only player who said he'd be interested in playing elsewhere. "We're going to look to see what we can do," Bird said. "It's like with any player who walks in and says they're not happy. You try to explain to them that the grass isn't always greener. When they think they can take their game to the next level and they want to get more minutes and more shots, you look around. </div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"But the big issue facing the Pacers is whether to trade Artest. His value never will be higher after winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award and becoming an All-Star without many incidents. But the Pacers know the potential is there. And Artest, who breaks the offense constantly and takes wild shots, doesn't fit the controlled style coach Rick Carlisle likes to play. It might be their best move to get a big man or a scorer to take pressure off Jermaine O'Neal. "I don't think this team will be back in its exact form next year," Carlisle said. "There will be some changes, either through free agency and the draft or the possibility of trades. There's going to be some things that are going to be different."</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Sam Smith and the Chicago Trbune (registration required).</font>
Hmm, I don't like this. Trading away Ron Artest? I mean, he's not a superstar, but he's a player that you really wouldn't want to see on another team. Now, about Harrington, if he wants to go, they should trade him, even though I think he's really valuable to the Pacers. But, if it came down to Harrington or Artest, I'd rather see Harrington gone.
Yeah I dont know who would really want to trade Artest cause he's a great defensive player and hes got offensive skills. I'm sure Harrington will be the first to be traded. I sure wouldnt mind if he came back to Chi-town
Harrington probably should go, I wouldn't mind, but keep in mind he's young and has plenty of potential, although that may also be a reason for you to get rid of him. Much like the Blazers' and the Cavs', you have too many young players without the raw, awesome intelligent basketball mind you find in veterans and uniquely some very young players eg. Luol Deng. As far as Artest goes, you have to keep him, he's proven to be quite an offensive threat, plus where else are you gonna find someone stronger and tougher in his position? Not to mention his achievements, that defensive player of the year says nothing about what he's capable of, he's a stopper, defense wins games, keep him.
i think al will go. ron is apart of the main pieces along with jo. indy is close to getting to the nba finals and if they remove a major part of the team, how can you expect to go foward? al isnt at the level defensively that ron is. if you dont have ron then guys like rj and kobe and the teams best perimeter players who ron guards will have their way against indy instead of having either a par or below par game b/c of ron. ron is to valuable to the pacers to lose, but it also depends on who they could get for him. if they could get a few solid proven players, then maybe it is worth it to trade him. al seems the obvious one to go, but it depends who they want/could get for artest.
I'd rather see Harrington leave. Although he provides offense off the bench, he is way too inconsistent to be something big.
