'Testy stays with the Kings

[Reality]

Barring a midseason trade, Ron 'Testy is not going to help the Spurs, Kobees or anyone else win a title in 2009.
"Not opting out," Artest told ESPN.com's Marc Stein via e-mail Monday night. "The Kings have been there for me, so the best I could do is stay in my contract."

Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, confirmed that his client will fulfill the final year, worth nearly $8 million.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3468447

[Lurker]

More likely he realized that he wasn't going to get $8 mil anywhere else.  "kings have been there for me"...what a line of bull.  If a team were to have indicated they were willing to pay as much or more and lock him up for 3-4 years then Artest would have been running to the airport.

[Reality]

^^ That's what i thought too.
It takes him until 11:59 pm on the night of declaration to say the Kings were there for him.

[JoMal]

What is most odd is that Artest and his agent have been saying for weeks that Ron would not opt out of his contract. That he actually DID NOT - THAT is what I find odd. He was being courted by the Knicks, mainly, but others expressed some interest in him as well.

No question, though, as the NBA nears the trade deadline in February, interest in crazy Ron is going to go sky-high. He would be a bargain for a team vying for playoff positioning needing to rent a defensive-minded and tough small forward, which would make Petrie happy to deal with the right offer. Before then, a sign and trade is also possible. No one in SacTown really believes he will be a King this time next year (he won't anyway, as his contract will definitely expire by then), but the rumor mill is saying the Kings are going to make a major trade soon that would include Ron. The Blogs in D.C. are saying that the Arenas signing is a prelude to trading him to the Kings for Artest and Martin, for instance, though that one seems weak.

What most concerns the Kings going into the season is that they have no starting point guard. If Udruh signs with either the Clippers or Knicks, we are left with guys like Chris Duhan, Keyon Dooling, or <gasp> Jason Williams as top free agent PG's and just the mid-level to offer. A King's trade for a quality point guard then, is very likely. The guys we liked in the draft - Augustin and Bayless - were picked right before our #12 selection.

[westkoast]

Were the Knicks going to court him at 8 million tho?  I would assume not.  Though I do find it odd he did not opt out and still listen to New York.  He is a Queens resident, he grew up in NYC, most of his friends still live in NYC, and he still thinks he should keep a rap label.  What better place then NYC for Ron Ron?

Maybe Brent Barry could sign to the Kings and be their starting point guard?!

[jemagee]

Kings are rumored to be tosssing way too much money at udrih to be their starting point guard

[Reality]

TeeHee.  Oh Jomal, I'm not laughing at you, really I'm not.  Just that most of the board sees Ron Ron differently.

I didn't post the whole article but here is the jist of it.
Artest says it was a 'mistake' not to opt out of deal with Kings
By Marc Stein
Updated: July 1, 2008, 6:38 PM ET

After seeing Elton Brand and Baron Davis unexpectedly put themselves on the free-agent market, Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest is second-guessing himself for not doing the same.

Artest told ESPN.com on Tuesday that he wishes now he had opted for unrestricted free agency, like Brand and Davis, instead of electing to play out the final year of his contract with the Kings next season at $7.4 million.

Artest also conceded that his long-term future is likely not in Sacramento, saying via e-mail: "I don't see myself with [the] Kings beyond 2008-09.
"I think I made the biggest mistake by staying in my contract and I have to live with it," Artest said. "I had some misleading information [in making the] decision on not opting out. [But] I still thank G-d for all his blessings and being able to play basketball and help people."


Before announcing his decision, Artest said last week: "Even if I was to opt out, which probably won't happen, I will never accept a mid-level exception. So people trying to figure out possibilities should get that out of their heads."  Reality here:  he really wants a title, huh board?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3469895

[Reality]

Maybe Brent Barry could sign to the Kings and be their starting point guard?!

jemagee

Kings are rumored to be tosssing way too much money at udrih to be their starting point guard

Wouldn't that be the shiznits if Theus played them both at pg and they combined for 28/12/6 in a 1st round knockout of The Poppycocks!?

jemagee, fyi i have been promoting Barry as getting more playing time at backup point for Tony Parker for ages.  As you saw in this years playoffs, once cementhead Pop finally put the Barrdog in Gm 4 he went off.  (all except the brain dead failure to jump into Derek Fisher and get 3 fts and likely the gamewinners).  I'm big on, well was big on Barrdog as a backup point for the Spurs.  Really wanted to see he and they get 3-4 and a repeat.

[JoMal]

jemagoo...er...magee

The Kings are "throwing" the mid -level money at Udruh, which is, what, 5-6 million for starters then goes up over five years. His agent 'expects' his client to be offered more, so is waiting by the phone. Time will tell if he has made a bit of an over-estimation on his client's desireability based on one year as a starter, but the Kings currently have NO quality starting point guard, so..... 

Reality, sorry to burst your bubble and anyone else's on the board who feels Ron-Ron is not being courted by others, but Petrie could have traded him at least twice, and possibly three times prior to the 2008 trade deadline, but turned down the offers because...as you apparently are alluding too...the GM's of these other teams were obviously thinking they could lowball Petrie and get him for less then he is worth. Ask Denver, for one, if Artest might have helped them in the first round in this year's playoffs.

As it is, Petrie is not in any rush. He never seems to be at any time anyway, but he figures Artest is happy enough where he is and so is the team, and next year, regardless, he will be someone else's problem. And guess what? If Ron expects value for his services, how bad do you think he will be during the 2008/09 season? He just might, I don't know, play even harder and be on time and not be a distraction while planning his exit strategy while "only" costing the Kings about 7.4 million for the season. 

His "mistake", if in fact it was a mistake, is his and does not affect how the Kings will use him next year.

To Petrie and the Kings, they have a top level defensive-minded NBA small forward who can score on anyone, for a very cheap 7.4 million, who has so much baggage that if he ever hopes to get a decent paycheck again absolutely HAS to behave himself next year.

See my suffering, Reality?   

[Reality]

That Artest could and will help the Kings with a relatively excellent price/terms one year deal is not what we were addressing.  It's RonRon and his motives for *wanting to stay with the Kings.*

Had nothing to do with their "being there for him".   As he "Artested" to with his comments today.

[jemagee]

1.  No other team would be ALLOWED to court artest until he opts out, that would be called tampering.

2.  I know exactly what udrih is getting, and he's not worth it, he's not a full time NBA starting point guard...

[Lurker]

That Artest could and will help the Kings with a relatively excellent price/terms one year deal is not what we were addressing.  It's RonRon and his motives for *wanting to stay with the Kings.*

Had nothing to do with their "being there for him".   As he "Artested" to with his comments today.

I think I said this in the second post in this thread.  Should I call for props ala koast & rick?

[Reality]

That is a funny visual you gave of RonRon running to the airport.

[JoMal]

1.  No other team would be ALLOWED to court artest until he opts out, that would be called tampering.

What's your point? "Tampering" happens all the time. As long as you don't pull a Kevin McHale and foolishly write your activities down, no one knows how often deals are started in the tunnels under arenas.

2.  I know exactly what udrih is getting, and he's not worth it, he's not a full time NBA starting point guard...

He is "exactly" getting 32 million for five years. And that is for a full time NBA starting point guard, which in this day and age is something of a bargain. BTW, the Clippers were going to give him the same deal, even after signing Davis. Their offer to Udruh was still available to him before he called Petrie to accept their five year deal. New York, Miami, and Cleveland all had talked to Udruh's agent as well.