I don't even want the dude on my fantasy team! Damn man he is holding my team hostage. I still can't just drop him.

The trade didn't go through because Artest's agent said Artest didn't want to go to Sactown, but of course Artest says it didn't matter, Artest claims it was his agent's call, so the two teams decided to sink the deal, the rest is history.

and indiana thinks they can do better than expiring deals.

Isiah should offer Malik Rose!

Ron Artest has been summoned to a Wednesday morning meeting by the Indiana Pacers, who want to hear from the player himself on whether he is standing in the way of a trade to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, ESPN.com learned Tuesday night.

Artest and his agent were expected to meet Wednesday morning in Indianapolis with team executives Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh with the hopes the trade can be revived.

The Pacers and Kings were close to a deal Tuesday, and Stojakovic stayed at the team hotel in Philadelphia when it appeared the trade would be finalized. But a source with inner knowledge of the day's events said a call from Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, to the Kings gave them second thoughts about pulling the trigger, and the deal was temporarily shelved.

"The way I was treated today, I was disappointed," Stojakovic told ESPN.com in Philadelphia. "I feel kind of disrespected with the way I found out. Thank God they have TVs here. I understand being traded, but this situation is weird. I had already planned my flight back to Sacramento, and now everything is reversed.

"I guess this is just a business, but the way I was told and the way I found out, I feel I deserved better from [Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof]. Anybody can get traded in the NBA, but the way I found out, it was disrespectful. I deserve better after seven and a half years."

Stojakovic rode the team bus on the two-hour trip to New York after arriving by limo at the Wachovia Center during the second half of Sacramento's 109-103 loss to Philadelphia. The Kings play the Knicks on Wednesday night.

Artest told The Indianapolis Star there was a possibility something still could happen.

"There's no deal," Artest told the newspaper by telephone. "It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things." Artest told the Star he is not against a trade but would like to be involved in negotiations.

"I just want to meet with team officials of whichever team I'm headed to," he said in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site. "I want to play, but I'm following the rules I have to follow. If I have to sit out, I sit out the season."

The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was banished from the team in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.

Before the deal apparently broke down, Kings players were already talking about the trade as if it was a done deal.

"Peja will be missed," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's been in Sacramento for a lot of years, but life goes on in the NBA.

"We'll welcome Ron Artest with open arms and hope he'll be able to help us. You always hear about the situations he's been in and all the hype. Maybe this is the change he needs, to come into our system and flourish."

Artest was a key component to a team that was expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He led the league in steals and was the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game before being deactivated after publicly requesting a trade in early December.

Stojakovic has been having an unproductive, injury-hampered season for the last-place Kings, whose loss Tuesday was their third in a row. Stojakovic's scoring average is down almost eight points from his All-Star level of two years ago, and the Kings are at risk of losing him with nothing in return when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Indiana has been holding out for more than six weeks for an offer that it deems acceptable. A proposed swap for Corey Maggette fell through because of the Pacers' concerns over Maggette's foot injury, and talks with several other Western Conference teams failed to produce a deal that pleased all parties.

If the Artest trade ultimately falls apart, the Kings will be facing an uncomfortable dynamic with Stojakovic, who has never been traded in his NBA career. During his 10-minute interview with ESPN.com, he seemed bewildered and embittered by the day's events. The two-hour bus ride to Manhattan promised to be an uncomfortable one for Stojakovic and his Kings teammates, who, two hours earlier, thought they wouldn't see him again until the next time they faced the Pacers.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304942

Posted by djsunyc:

artest is a cancer.
he has single handedly destroyed the hopes of the pacers and it's fans.
he should be suspended indefinitely without pay.
and some of you guys still want him on this team.

I tell you I just gained a ton of respect for this guy. Last year after the fight I thought this dudes one step out of the crazy house. Bizarre statements he's made prior to now (i.e. let me take a year off for my rap label, etc) notwithstanding, I believe this move by Artest is the most concise position he's taken since i've been observing the guy.

All of this clap trap about who does he think he is by deciding where he wants to play is hogwash. This is not the regular work place where you do only what your employer wants. These men are paid hardy sums by billionaires. These billionaires couldn't care less if Artest got run over like a dog in the street if he didn't have any basketball skills.

Clearly there is only one place he will play on the West coast and that's LA. He's only open to the East Coast it would seem and NYC and the Knicks seems to be unquestionably his top choice by far. I have no problem whatsoever with him taking this position. Indy has no grounds to suspend him without pay for him or his lawyer saying he's not excited about playing in Sactown. It was SacTown's choice to pull out of the trade after realizing that there was very little chance of him resigning there in two years. All this business about keeping quiet until summer is BS. This is real life. Elway made a choice, Manning made a choice. What makes Ron Ron any different? It ain't because he's black (hell if it was that they woulda thrown him under the bus a long long time ago). Is it because he's Nuts...obviously not because some of these billionaires keep on calling.

Is it unethical...in some peoples mind? Sure. Not in my mind.

Is he nuts....oh yeah. Is he Crazy....Yup....Crazy like a fox.

Can he play the game and is he capable of changing things drastically for a franchise like the Knicks...Unquestionably yes.

Isiah, leave a message for Donnie because the ball is in Indys court and they've got to decide if they will eat his contract and suspend him (with pay mind you) indefinitely or if they will cut their loses and take an offer from a team Ron Ron wants to play for (ala The Knicks).

You gotta know when ta hold'em, know when ta walk awayyyy,....and know when to run...you neva count yo money...when ya sittin at tha table....there'll be time anough for counting ....when the deal is done

Go Get'em Isiah.

[Edited by - Junkmein on 01-25-2006 07:57 AM]

Posted by JUNKMEIN:

Posted by djsunyc:

artest is a cancer.
he has single handedly destroyed the hopes of the pacers and it's fans.
he should be suspended indefinitely without pay.
and some of you guys still want him on this team.

I tell you I just gained a ton of respect for this guy. Last year after the fight I thought this dudes one step out of the crazy house. Bizarre statements he's made prior to now (i.e. let me take a year off for my rap label, etc) notwithstanding, I believe this move by Artest is the most concise position he's taken since i've been observing the guy.

All of this clap trap about who does he think he is by deciding where he wants to play is hogwash. This is not the regular work place where you do only what your employer wants. These men are paid hardy sums by billionaires. These billionaires couldn't care less if Artest got run over like a dog in the street if he didn't have any basketball skills.

Clearly there is only one place he will play on the West coast and that's LA. He's only open to the East Coast it would seem and NYC and the Knicks seems to be unquestionably his top choice by far. I have no problem whatsoever with him taking this position. Indy has no grounds to suspend him without pay for him or his lawyer saying he's not excited about playing in Sactown. It was SacTown's choice to pull out of the trade after realizing that there was very little chance of him resigning there in two years. All this business about keeping quiet until summer is BS. This is real life. Elway made a choice, Manning made a choice. What makes Ron Ron any different? It ain't because he's black (hell if it was that they woulda thrown him under the bus a long long time ago). Is it because he's Nuts...obviously not because some of these billionaires keep on calling.

Is it unethical...in some peoples mind? Sure. Not in my mind.

Is he nuts....oh yeah. Is he Crazy....Yup....Crazy like a fox.

Can he play the game and is he capable of changing things drastically for a franchise like the Knicks...Unquestionably yes.

Isiah, leave a message for Donnie because the ball is in Indys court and they've got to decide if they will eat his contract and suspend him (with pay mind you) indefinitely or if they will cut their loses and take an offer from a team Ron Ron wants to play for (ala The Knicks).

You gotta know when ta hold'em, know when ta walk awayyyy,....and know when to run...you neva count yo money...when ya sittin at tha table....there'll be time anough for counting ....when the deal is done

Go Get'em Isiah.

[Edited by - Junkmein on 01-25-2006 07:57 AM]

I agree with you on everything except:
I haven't gained respect for the guy.
I think he would play for GS and the Clips.


DJSUNYC is correct to say he has ruined indy's season and killed their fans hope.

I don't want Artest here. I just wish this saga would end so everyone else could make trades.

update from ESPN:

"It was a good meeting," Artest told the Indianapolis Star. "They said they were going to try to get something sorted out to get the trade done. There's no trade right now."

Artest also denied he wouldn't go to the Kings.

"I'll go anywhere," Artest told the Star. "I just want to get back on the basketball court and start playing again."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304942


this madness must stop.

Posted by martin:

Posted by crzymdups:

update from ESPN:

"It was a good meeting," Artest told the Indianapolis Star. "They said they were going to try to get something sorted out to get the trade done. There's no trade right now."

Artest also denied he wouldn't go to the Kings.

"I'll go anywhere," Artest told the Star. "I just want to get back on the basketball court and start playing again."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2304942


this madness must stop.

I am back and forth on whether or not a player/agent should get involved with trades. Ron Artest aside, why shouldn't a player have SOME say in the destination of where he is going? Now, if a trade is made, the player better show up or face fines, no disagreement there.

Also, is it so wrong of a player to say (before a trade goes down): "I would rather not play in that city."

people blew up when Terrell Owens did the same thing with Baltimore. I don't know, it happens though, where a player will try to force his way to the city. It's part of the game that I think GMs accept.

BUT, with Artest doing his initial emotional reaction and then backtracking, it's a little ridiculous. He did the same thing with his trade request, though not as quickly. He's such a child. It's just tiresome.