Ron Artest?

Yeah, umm...this required a post from out of my quiet summer. The Rockets' have made a deal to acquire Ron Artest from the Sacremento Kings, in exchange for Bobby Jackson, some rookie, and next years number one pick, as well as some cash.

First of all, let's just throw this out there. That is a gutsy and interesting move by Daryl Morey. Totally took me by surprise, no doubt about that. I would have figured there were teams in the Ron Artest sweepstakes, would not have figured the Rockets' to be one of them! But I digest. (Yes, I know it is digress).

I love Ron Artest on the basketball court! I really do. And I know that he loves Rick Adelman. So, from that point of view, this seems like a nice deal. And if all goes to plan, this really puts the Rockets' in a pretty good position. Doesn't quite put them with the Lakers, but puts them right there with the Spurs and the Hornets as far as the West goes.

But let's just think about this a second. Chances are HIGHLY likely this will not go to plan. Ron Artest just adds another player with the problem that our other 2 alleged "stars" have. He can't stay on the court. Only once since the 03-04 season has Artest managed to appear in more than 57 games. In that time, he has missed an average of 41 games a season. Now, I do realize that one of those seasons included an almost season long suspension, and that is not the same as an injury. However, when you are talking Ron Artest, you never know just how close you are to an outburt causing a season long suspension! So he has missed half a season each season for the last 6 seasons.

That is a lot of money to invest in someone who misses that much playing time. Let's just throw some numbers out there. This is a guy who has played 13 seasons, and this is a sample of his games played: 27, 28, 55, 7, 16, 40, 56, 57. That is 8 of those 13 seasons right there. That is a whole bunch of games missed. Now add that to Yao and T-Mac's propensities to get hurt all the time, and you start to question this deal. A number 1 pick for a guy who misses half of the season on average for the last 6 seasons? Not to mention, I was hoping the Rockets' would dump T-Mac this off season. The guy is not a winner, plain and simple. I will not call him a loser...well, yes I will, the opposite of a winner is a loser. And the guy has never won jack taco. He's a loser.

On the face, I think this seems like a possibly great deal. But when it is considered how much time the 3 stars of the Houston Rockets' miss, I don't think this deal will have any effect. The Rockets' still can't get out of the first round with T-Mac. Although, this could be his best shot.