I know the Peja rumours are getting a little out of hand but I digress...... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The tremors from Sacramento Kings forward Peja Stojakovic's trade demand have rolled straight to Indiana, where he's already the focus of rampant speculation in a deal involving Ron Artest. Stojakovic, the NBA's second-leading scorer last season with a 24.2 average, revealed Thursday he told the Kings on July 23 he wanted to be traded. The Pacers qualify as a logical destination, given president Larry Bird's public admiration for Stojakovic and the fact his contract closely matches that of Artest </div> Full Story
^Artest is nowhere near Stojakovic on offense. Artest is good but Stojakovic's game is all about offense.
Actually...If you compare Ron Artest's Ability to play excellent defense AND stil give you 22-18 points per night..I would take him over Peja anyday..Peja is a one-dimensional player..What he plays on the non-offensive side of the game is an excuse for defense..Hes very reluctant to get down and dirty..Hes a big soft..Like most european players (Im europan so im not being rasict) and even i will admit that...Ron Artest could possibly be the missing piece to sac-town being a title contender..(No a REAL one)!
I would definitely NOT do this trade under any circumstances. But I also think that this trade has a 75% chance of happening. Carlisle is not high on Artest and would rather bring in a player that can play in a system offensively. Has anyone noticed that Artest' name has been the only player in Indy (other than Harrington) to be named in any/all trade rumours? The Pacers are really looking to unload him for the right price.
Bad trade for the Pacers, unless the Kings toss in another player. Peja is a good offensive player and lacks defense. Ron Artest on the other hand is a good offensive player and plays great defense. It's a proven fact that defense wins in this league nowadays, and Artest owns Peja on the defensive end. Artest is obviously known for his defense, but I believe he's underrated on the offensive end. Either way the deal would be a steal for the Kings.
I'm glad they switched their focus to another player other than Vince Carter because I was pretty afraid a player on a higher level would be traded for Peja. Peja is the better offensive player on the perimeter, but Artest is better when he backs up his defender one on one. However Peja needs assistance to get his offensive game going while Artest doesn't need any. Peja is probably the most underrated defender in the league. He's drastically improved his defense, but no one mentions it at all. He won't shut you down like Artest but he will contain you. Both players have completely dissapeared in the playoffs but Artest hasn't as much. It's a tough decision if I were the Kings, but I would trade Peja for Artest straight up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Peja is a good offensive player and lacks defense. Ron Artest on the other hand is a good offensive player and plays great defense. It's a proven fact that defense wins in this league nowadays, and Artest owns Peja on the defensive end.</div> Ahhh, this makes their offensive skills seem equal....Peja is a very good offensive player and shooter, but needs to be assisted to score. Artest is a decent offensive player that takes bad shots, and isn't efficient in his scoring, and also a little turnover prone. Artest is a very good defender though, Peja is jut decent, he's not horrible anymore, but not good.
Do you guys remember in the eastern conference finals when artest was throwing up bricks against the pistons? peja would never shoot 29% in any playoff series. True artest is a better defensive player but the pacers play sound enough d to counteract that. Their only flaw is lack of offense i think it would be a great trade for the pacers not to mention artest is a hot head and could hurt your team with his self-destructive behavior. I? think you indianafans are overrating the importance of ron artest i mean peja was the 2nd leading scorer in the league(ahead of shaq and kobe, ahead of dirk nowitzki, ahead of every one else beside t-mac) would trade him for any of the players i mentioned of course you would.
Actually Peja is a bigger playoff choker than Artest is, for a guy considered the best shooter in the NBA you can't shoot under 30% from three and under 38% from the field through every playoff series. Thats exactly what Peja did He is a very good regular season player but in the playoffs he cracks under pressure.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SunWarrior:</div><div class="quote_post">bad trade Artest is better d player and equal on offense</div> artest can't play d he brainwashed the media to choose him d player of the year ben wallace should have won
I think it's pretty ridiculous that the Pacers are considering this. Artest had a bad shooting series against the best defensive team in the NBA, but contained Hamilton very well and every game was a close one (not to mention just about every pacer on the starting 5 was hurt). Add to this the fact Indiana already traded a big part of their defense for perimeter shooting in Jackson. So having Reggie and Jackson who are both good 3 point shooters, especially in the clutch, Bender and Jones who are developing good enough jumpers, you don't need a guy who does nothing but shoot. Also, while the Kings have Bibby to assist Peja, the Pacers don't really have any good PG. Tinsley and Johnson are solid, but definitely no Bibby. Bird obviously just has a thing for jumpshooters. =b
i think this trade would benefit the kings more than it would the pacers, but the pacers wouldnt be at a total loss, and might actually be better off if they can land dampier. if u can replace artest's perimeter defense with an inside presence of dampier and JO, and get a shooter in return, i say you do it. peja can hold on his own for the most part on perimeter defense, and now if he gets beat, his man is running in to two of the leagues best shot blockers... and with the addition of peja, JO now has 2 great, and 1 good shooter to kick it out to (miller/peja, and jackson). but without bringing in dampier, i would probably pass on the peja deal
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting elijahser:</div><div class="quote_post">artest can't play d he brainwashed the media to choose him d player of the year ben wallace should have won</div> lol. you must be a detroit fan?
