LMFAO Pakman. Holy crap, that's the funniest thing ever. I thought I read it wrong when I saw in USA Today that he wanted a MONTH off. ROFL.
But think of it this way: Shaq's albums always came out during the off-season. Never got anywhere near this type of publicity. You'll be hearing clips from the album all over SportsCenter once it comes out. You can't pay for this type of exposure. Did you see how Donnie Walsh said Artest came into camp out of shape, at near 260 lbs? Apparently he didn't work out to the extent he normally does, because it would have cut into his recording schedule. Yeah, thats the type of dedication that you would expect from a guy who won the Defensive Player of the Year and who's team was expected to compete for the NBA Championship.
You should never let secondary stuff like that get into the way of you're job. Ron Artest is a huge dissapointment off the court. I'm sorry Pacers fans I guess you'll have to bare with him untill he finishes his album. No wonder why Sacremento didn't pull the trigger on that Stojackovic-Artest trade. Sacremento would have to deal with unacceptable things from a player who considered himself the MVP
The Pacers have a team good enough to win it all, but they have to deal with and unnecessary distraction like this. I could imagine how the Pacer organization and their fans feel.
celtfan, the craziest thing I've ever heard is not this Artest fiasco. It was when Sprewell said, "I got a family to feed" when he was asking for more money in his contract. I'm like... "Dude, you get paid 9 million dollars a year, and you can't 'feed your family'?" Now, that was the craziest thing I've ever heard... The whole Artest fiasco doesn't really phase me... I'm used to this already...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Pacer_dude:</div><div class="quote_post"> "Dude, you get paid 9 million dollars a year, and you can't 'feed your family'?" Now, that was the craziest thing I've ever heard... </div> Actually, Spree makes 14 million a year and the wolves were offering him a "pay-cut" down to 10 million a year. Clearly, you can see where he could be insulted. The thing that really confused me was the impromptu press conference that Artest held from his car yesterday. He's sitting there, making sure his group's album cover is in the shot, just rambling "I can do what I want, I'm a grown man... I'm a team player, I'll do what I'm told... I could leave the game today... I love this game, I want to win a championship... I want to go platnium... I want to be a general manager and a coach..." He was all over the map, sounding like a little kid when you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up. I'm surprised he didn't mention wanting to being an astronaut. Between this latest rant and DA's revelation that he almost came to blows with JO the other night, he's got to be traded.
Did anyone read the article, because if you did, do you notice that Artest said not only will he rap but he will also SING! Well, I'm not sure if Artest seriously does have a few screws loose, but threatening to retire, taking time off to work on his album etc. is really giving him publicity. And do not be surprised if his album sells. Every time I turn on ESPN that's all they talk about Artest, Artest and more Artest. Expect the Pacers and 76ers game highlights to be the first one shown on tomorrow's edition of SportsCeneter. Like I said earlier, I don't whether Artest is really "crazy" but whatever the case may be he's doing one hell of a job promoting this album and giving it tons of publicity. I for one will be at the stores buying this album.
