In one year, we’ve seen moved: The Kid and Jesus, Pau, Shaq, Bibby, J Kidd, Big Ben, Wally World, Baron Davis, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Jermaine O’Neal, Marcus Camby, Richard Jefferson, and T.J. Ford.
Whew. All of those guys, save Maggette and Ford, have been, at the very least, all stars. You can even argue that Corey and T.J. are all star level talents.
And that list doesn’t even include all of the other moves from guys like Larry Hughes (last year) to James Jones (this year) to the handful of defectors leaving for Europe, most notably Josh Childress. And, the guys going to Europe include a bunch of really talented players. Carlos Delfino, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa and most recently Nenad Krstic could all play.
So, all my optimism for what the Clippers have been doing has really been tempered by the recent news of the major trade that is set to go down.
The Western Conference, and thus, the Lakers road (and, the Clippers for that matter) to the promised land, just got a lot tougher in the past 24 hours.
As has been the rumor, the Lakers have had their eye on a certain jump-into-the-stands-fan-hitter this whole summer. Well, Ron Artest is not coming to Los Angeles. Great!
Instead, he’s making his way out of Sacto and into H-Town. great…
I was against him coming to the Lakers mainly because I didn’t feel he was an upgrade over Lamar Odom, or, put differently, I felt losing Odom would hurt the Lakers game plan more than adding Artest would help it.
Well, I got my wish and you know that saying about being careful what you wish for…
As a Lakers fan, I hope that all of my fears and all the reasons I didn’t want Artest to come to the Lakers are realized in Houston. I hope Artest is a malcontent playing third fiddle to Yao and Tmac. I hope he loses interest in the slowed down offense, starts to hog the ball and evaporates the excellent team chemistry. I hope he has his annual breakdown and does something that gets him in trouble with his team, the media and, as is often the case, the law. I hope all of these things…and yet, I fear that none of them will happen.
Ron Ron has always been a risk. But he’s also had the potential for being the ultimate reward. He can be all of those things and has been all of those things stated above, but he can also be mentioned in the same breath as any great player not named Lebron or Kobe—and some might argue that.
He has the skill and when motivated, the passion and desire to be an elite player: a Defensive Player of the Year, mixed with a 20 plus point scorer who can rebound and pass.
Things just never have quite been right for him. He’s found ways, despite efforts, to screw up every situation he’s ever been in. He couldn’t fit in with the Bulls. He had a great team in Indiana and even tried to stay out of that brawl, but then that cup of beer landed on him. He sparked the Kings, but then became disenchanted. Then there’s the whole laundry list of off-the-court antics—the domestic violence accusations, the animal cruelty, the time off for his rap album, etc.
But, the perfect storm has been created for him in Houston. His trade value has been diminished to that of two, late first round picks and a 35-year-old Bobby Jackson. Ouch.
He’s 29 years old. He’s burned bridges everywhere he’s gone. He’s on his last leg, in a contract year.
Tmac and/or Yao will at some point be injured this season, this is as certain as Amy Winehouse and Pete Daugherty’s addictions, as for sure as Scott Boras’ greed, as absolute as Vodka.
This means that Artest will be the most consistent offensive presence on the club and therefore, if you squint a bit, the man on this team. Just like he wanted in Indiana. Just like he forced on the Kings. But unlike those two places, he won't actually have to carry the weight of being THE man. That's still on Tmac and Yao. He can just put up the man type numbers. So, while there is pressure on Artest to perform well (for his own sake), the real pressure is on Tmac and Yao who have never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. It's still their team. And it's a good one. A real good one.
The Rockets were a legit title contender last year. One of the best defensive squads in the league and, perhaps in history, as evidenced by their historic 22 game win streak.
They have Rick Adelman, Artest’s most favorite coach ever, who coached Ron Ron when the Kings made it to the playoffs two years ago and scared the beejeezus outta the Spurs in the first round. Adelman bring a comfort zone for Ron and coaches a brand of basketball and a style that seems to fit Ron's game perfectly.
The Rockets are a big one away from being a big three. And everyone saw how the big 3 (Celtics) and the big 2 1/2 (Lakers) faired last season.
So, Artest has every reason to make this work. His favorite coach. An elite team. Two star players that alleviate the pressure but allow him to shine. Then there's a championship, a new contract, his credibility and legacy all on the line—a very taut, unraveling line at that.
For Artest, he can get everything he wants if he just steps up and takes it.
The scary thing for Lakers fans…the Rockets, with the edition of Artest added to Shane Battier, now have the two best “Kobe stoppers” in the league. And all for what?
Sacramento lowered their asking price apparently. Didn’t include Kenny Thomas and his $17 million in the new deal and got back two first round picks (Donte Green being one of them) and Bobby Jackson. Green’s got a heap of talent (dropped 40 in his first summer league game) and is only 20.
So, it’s now Oh Fish Al. Kevin Martin, Mr. Newschool Reggie Miller, is now the man—like he should have been last year.
I like Martin, a lot. But, let’s be real. The Kings are in rebuilding mode.
So, if there’s any silver lining…at least Sacramento, in the immediate future, has gotten worse.
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In other quasi-Lakers news, the Detroit Pistons signed my boy, Kwame Brown, to a two-year $8 million deal effectively destroying any hope I had of him resigning with the Lakers. He’ll be basically making, per season, half of what he made under his last contract.
Huh? Lakers fans are probably laughing their asses off right now. But, if you go back and check out my Kwame blog that I wrote in January when Bynum went down with an injury, my belief is that Detroit, much like Houston for Artest, is the perfect storm for Mr. Small Stone Hands.
They don’t need him to be a starter, though, if he lives up to his potential, he could fit very nicely next to Rasheed Wallace or Antonio McDyess or Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson or whoever the Pistons keep or trade for. See, the move is great because it gives the Pistons a huge 270-pound brute who can get in there and play defense. Not by blocking shots or intimidating, but by staying in front and staying grounded and using his whole weight to his advantage.
Critics say that the former number 1 overall pick has not learned anything in his 7-year NBA tenure. While his offense has gone nowhere, he has, in fact, learned a great deal. He’s learned to use his big body to play defense. And while half a game is not worth $8 million, $4 million is a nice price especially considering the HUGE contract Desagna Diop got, who has worse career stats then Brown in everything but blocks and is equally offensively challenged.
Check out last year’s Lakers/Celtics Christmas game. Check Kwame on KG. Watch what KG wasn’t able to do. Then, check out how well KG tore up Rasheed Wallace last year.
Or, look up how old Dwight Howard is. Sure, the Pistons have been able to keep him in check, but, dude’s so young…the Pistons, they’re getting old. Howard will figure it out, and when he does, the Pistons will need a big body to compensate. Kwame—who is 26.
Check out Chris Bosh’s new running mate (Jermaine O’Neal). Or, see how huge that frontline in Cleveland is. Let’s not forget the new tag-team of Samuel Dalembert and Elton Brand.
The East has got some big bodies out there. You can add Kwame Brown to that list.
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In yet more quasi-Lakers news, former Lakers draft day pickup via trade from Toronto, Kareem Rush, has found a new home playing with the 76ers. A career 36 percent 3-point shooter who had a career year last year with the Pacers (and, consequently, helped my fantasy basketball team to a championship) will bring his marksmanship to a team sorely in need of a shooter. He has a better than good chance of beating out incumbent shooting guard, Willie-I-can’t-do-nothing-very-well-Green as the starter.
Also, former Lakers backup shooting guard Maurice Evans, who was considered by the Golden State Warriors before they went ahead and resigned Kelenna Azubuike, is heading off to Atlanta to fill the gaping hole left by Josh Childress. While Evans isn’t nearly as good in doing all the things Childress did, he can score and shoot the long ball and is a high-energy, high-fly act. He’ll fit in nicely with the Hawks.
Keywords: Chris Bosh, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets, Kareem Rush, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kwame Brown, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Maurice Evans, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Sacramento Kings, Shane Battier, Tmac, Yao Ming
