August 14, 2008 Ron Artest is now officially a member of the Houston Rockets, according to the AP. "This is definitely the high point of my career," Artest said.
Our View:If Artest can keep himself together, he's obviously one of the top players available in fantasy basketball drafts, and the Rockets are a legitimate threat in the NBA's Western Conference.
July 31, 2008 The Ron Artest deal could be undone by the NBA's resident bad boy. In response to Yao Ming's concerns about Artest's past, Ron-Ron retaliated according to the Sacramento Bee. "I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto," said Artest, who will earn $7.4 million next season and be a free agent next summer. "That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he'll understand what I'm about. If you go back to the brawl, that's a culture issue right there. Somebody was disrespecting me, so he's got to understand where I'm coming from. People that know me know that Ron Artest never changed." The deal cannot be completed until August 14 because of the nature of Donte Greene's contract (another player in the deal).
Our View:Welcome back, Ron Artest. From representing, to speaking in the third person, to defending his mind-boggling actions in the Detroit brawl, Artest is clearly reinvigorated now that he appears to be leaving Sac-town. Could the lunacy also be attributed to the fact that he canned his agent/muzzle earlier this summer? If Yao feels the need to respond, this could get ugly enough for the Rockets to pull out of the deal. We're certain Artest will not let Yao get the final word in.
July 30, 2008 With Houston acquiring Ron Artest via trade late last night, the stories of deals undone are coming forth, including one that would have sent Artest to the Phoenix Suns, according to East Valley Tribune.
Our View:The Trib reports the Suns had been targeting both Artest and another Houston free-agent signee, Brent Barry, but the in-season deal to acquire Kurt Thomas sent draft picks needed to do work on those swaps to Seattle while the decision to sign Matt Barnes has the team thinking they can find another hidden gem in need of a deal. We'll keep you posted when they make that move.
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