Once again, the scouts for the Indiana Pacers have been following the Sacramento Kings around, trying to gauge whether or not a Peja Stojakovic for Ron Artest trade is the best viable option available to the team to rid itself of one of the most controversial players ever to don an NBA uniform.
If they are going by his last three games, the ones in which Peja returned from his latest stint on the disabled list, this time for that troublesome protruding disc in his back, they might start to consider that maybe Ron is just a bit misunderstood afterall.
The famed Peter Vescey, reknown worldwide as the pundit with the penchant for faux pas, let it slip out during his weekly psychoanalysis of all things he deems important to the NBA that the decision to pull the trigger on this swap is totally in the hands of the Sacramento Kings. The Pacers, to no ones surprise, are quite willing to make the deal. We all, apparently, are now just waiting for Geoff Petrie to turn the sinking Kings ship around by bringing in the one guy who can make this chemistry thingy work for the team.
The rest of us here in Sacramento just stained our chairs in the kitchen nook as we downed our Cheerios after hearing about this on the morning sports talk radio, then hacked up the remains when much of it was confirmed by this morning's Sacramento Bee.
But does Peja, who once requested a trade, want to leave Sacramento now, in his contract year, and the expected top contract deal awaiting him somewhere.
Apparently not even.
"I would love to play for the Kings for the rest of my career", said Stojakovic. "That would be a good thing. I think every player that ends with the team he started with, that means something."
Peja, who recently played in his 518th game as a Sacramento King, surpassing Mitch Richmond in the longevity record with the team since it moved to Sacramento, also said he would turn down bigger offers and would consider a "hometown" discount.
"I think money is not going to be a huge thing in my mind," he said. "it's what I think, what I feel like".
But then, Peja's shooting stats, which truly are the measure of the man as an NBA player, have fallen ever since his all star season two years ago, when he averaged 24.2 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the field. His shooting fell off to 20.1 and 44.4 percent the following year, then plummeted to 16.9 points per game and 40.5 percent so far in this injury-splattered season. Frankly, he really does not warrant a maximum salary, since his other contributions to the team are not what might be deemed stellar in comparison to other small forwards in the League. This, in his contract season, yet. (He has a player option of 8.2 million for next season, but no one expects him to take it).
But while a straight up trade for Ron Artest's TALENT for the injury-prone and lost shooting touch of Peja Stojakovic is a no-brainer, the lack of a brain on the part of Ron "Stonehenge" Artest makes any suggestion of this deal to reasonably sane Kings fans cringeworthy.
To Peter Vescey for his insightful reporting of this deal happening - :moon: :bash: :drunk:
