Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

by Tom Ziller on Aug 29, 2007 7:37 AM PDT in Ron-Ron

And what's Ron Artest's rationale for thinking he won't be traded this summer?

"I don't think a trade's going to happen. I don't think anybody will give me up the way I've been working out this summer."

The guy oozes humility, really.

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Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

For this and Louis' post on Ron-Ron, I defer all of my comments to Kusian (conditions subject to change without notice).

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Aug 29, 2007 8:23 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

That's a lot of pressure, Section ;) I think, however, that once again my thoughts concerning Ron posted several weeks ago - and quoted by you - are once again apposite.

by Kusian on Aug 29, 2007 8:59 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Well, what if he is right and he does have a MVP-caliber season? He was right there before the brawl (small smaple, I am aware). I hope he is right. If he is, everyone might as well get used to Ron-Ron because he might just get extended. I know most people here don't feel as I do, but I might not mind Ron as a future King. This is all hoping/praying/dreaming that Ron has turned the corner on his personal demons. Its hard to root against the guy, he seems to try do damn hard only to sabotage himself in the end. Only time will tell.

by Mityt on Aug 29, 2007 9:53 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Ron Artest doesn't have MVP skills and no player wins the award on a losing team. The guy is a horrible team player and a cancer.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Aug 29, 2007 10:40 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Whether Artest's journey continues in Sacramento, New York, Miami, or somewhere else remains to be seen. When he first heard last month that an offseason trade to the Knicks could be a possibility, Artest hit the gym and "went into overdrive," he said. "I knew if I did come here, I would have to perform."

I'm so glad he'll have to perform in NY. And I'm even more thrilled that Petrie won't dump this guy for cap room next offseason. How is anybody ever going to get equal value for this guy? Any arguments for still wanting to keep him?

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Aug 29, 2007 11:10 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

I love how Artest continues to embarrass the franchise and us as fans by connecting himself in the media to Mike Vick. Did Artest go into overdrive in Africa? Did he start running marathons with the Kenyans? Elephant lifting, wildebeest wrangling, hyena abusing. Maybe he married a starving African women in every country to beat. Please leave now.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Aug 29, 2007 11:22 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Wow, that is a lot of hyperbole for this early in the day.

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by otis29 on Aug 29, 2007 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

True

by Kusian on Aug 29, 2007 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

I guess just to be the Devil's Advocate I have to offer some sort of rebuttal. Now just a disclaimer, I do not in any way endorse what Michael Vick (or Artest for that matter) did. It was a despicable crime and he WILL be punished. With that being said, just because someone does something bad, does that automatically make him/her a bad person? One could only hope that Vick will take this incident and learn that responsible adults don't associate with or participate in agregious activities such as senseless murder of animals. (if it were cockfighting would you feel the same? Remember "Little Jerry", that was funny..is this?). However, the entire point of life is to learn from your mistakes and better yourself as a human being. If you don't think that is possible, then you might as well line Mike up behind a wall and blow his brains out now. While your at it, just empty the tax burden on our honorble citizens by executing all prisoners with diligent prejudice. A little extreme, I know, but I guess I tend toward one pole or the other (which one depends on the day). All I mean by all of this is that people are quick to condemn and not so quick to forgive or at least somewhat reconcile. People make mistakes some much more atrocious than others. Might I remind you that Ray Lewis may very well have killed a HUMAN and Jamal Lewis setup a cocaine deal. The support of the drug trade directly leads to the death of thousands in this country and overseas. Both Lewis' play in the NFL and nobody really thinks much of what they did anymore.

This brings us back to Ron-Ron. I do not think Ron was saying dog-fighting was cool (like Starbury did, then retracted). I think that he sympathsized with Vick because he too has made mistakes in his life and has been judged for it (sometimes justified, sometimes not). True, Ron continues to fuckup, but he also does some amazing things for less fortunate people, as does Vick. How much community service do you do? How often do you touch the lives of the less fortunate. Probably a hell of a lot less than either of these two men. Yet most of you will point out the flaws yet ignore their beauty. As I said, I do not condone their actions nor do I claim to understand them. But before we all rush to judgement from our lofty views, lets just step back for a moment and view these athletes for what they are; fallable human beings who are trying to make their way in this confusing world just like you or I. It just so happens that everything they do is magnified (and glorified really) by the media. Maybe they learn form this and maybe they don't. Here's hoping they do cause there are plenty of walls and I'd like to give them a chance.

by Mityt on Aug 29, 2007 1:14 PM PDT reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

I agree with most of what you've written here. Yes, I do think what Michael Vick is done makes him a "bad" person, but it doesn't make him non-redeemable.

And Ron-Ron, in his own language-mangling way, is basically saying the same thing - the guy screwed up, he's fessing up and he should be supported in his quest to become a better person. Ron-Ron's public meltdown in Detroit is a fair equivalent to Vick's current issues (short of actually serving time), so I think it's a fair topic for Artest to discuss.

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by otis29 on Aug 29, 2007 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Don't want to be cynical but that very statement is why I never thought Vick would ever see jail time. I didn't think he would ever plea or be found guilty. When you have money, and you make a reasonable/compassionate argument the way you just did Mityt, you can change the circumstance any way you wish. I do agree that Ron wasn't condoning what Vick did, just that Ron thought Vick was geniune (that's what I thought when I read Berger's piece).

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Aug 29, 2007 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

My point has more to do with Ron speaking publicly at all regarding this issue. By sounding off Artest is bring the Vick issue to Sacramento. At this point Mike Vick is public enemy number one. He may be able to redeem himself one of these days but right now speaking on his behalf is only going to give the speaker negative press. I truly believe that Ron Artest should be forced to have a handler with him at all times even it is for his own sake. Can this asshole just stay out of the media for 5 minutes and let the signing of Kevin Martin get its due press.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Aug 29, 2007 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

He's bringing the Vick issue to Sacramento? You worried we are all going to be pigeonholed as closet dog-fighting supporters?

Ridiculous.

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by otis29 on Aug 29, 2007 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

I'm tired of the Sacramento Kings being associated with Ron Artest and what ever bullshit comes out of his mouth. We should be rejoicing the signing of Kevin Martin not discussing Mike Vick and/or Ron Artest. Everything has to be about Ron and it is getting old.

We are slipping into the NBA abyss.

by jjham15 @ Sactown Royalty on Aug 29, 2007 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

I will agree that it should be all about K-Mart and his extension right now. That is clearly the best Kings-related news we have heard in quite some time. I will say that I bet that it was some reporter asking Artest about the MV situation. I find it unlikely that Ron just blurted out his opinion but, of course, I could be wrong. That was part of my point however, I think the media glorifies this type of behavior by covering the hell out of it and force-feeding us all this negativity. It was definetly a news-worthy story. It is just about over (thank god). After his sentencing I don't want to hear any more about it, of course I will. I suppose I too am perpetuating this cycle by writing about it. That's it. I'm done, no more Vick-news from me. I've taken my stand.

by Mityt on Aug 29, 2007 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

Yes, good for Kevin (who we should no longer call K-Mart since he's no longer a Blue Light Special). I don't mean to over-shadow the moment he became a millionaire 55 times over but I can't let the Vick subject pass without comment.
This Vick/Artest argument is no more about judging a man's character than it is about our insatiable voyeurism of a community we don't belong to. We drive the demand for coverage of pro sports just like the middle-class man drives the demand for Rob Report or pornography--fantasy mags and literature full of things he cannot afford.

You may think this comparison is crazy, but we're talking about news coverage of Ron Artest IN AUGUST. The first game of the season is what? two, three months away. Face it, we are emotionally attached to these players. We get excited when they win and upset when they lose and we crave the excitement they bring us year round when they are only on the court November through April. So, we demand constant coverage from the media. But just like the wins, so come the losses. Someone is bound to screw up, bound to say something stupid, and we're bound to be disappointed. We feel like we know these people, but we don't, most of us don't anyway. We don't drink coffee with them in the morning, we don't depend on them to do their work so we can pay our mortgage. But, we absorb all this information we get about them to build out our fantasies.

I think we need to separate our voyeuristic feelings from our views of the world. I'm upset that Ron hit his wife. I think Vick acted like a child who didn't think he had to act morally because there probably were no consequences for his actions. But, athletic intelligence does not equal moral intelligence in the same way business smarts does not make a businessman ethical. And I'd go as far to say professional athletes don't break the law any more frequently than any other class of professional. Our emotional attachment to them just makes us more prone to treat them like dummies to which we tether our faith. This makes it easy to beat them up when they do things of which we disapprove.

by NYCFan @ Sactown Royalty on Aug 30, 2007 7:57 AM PDT up reply actions

Re: Ron-Ron Doesn't Think He'll Be Traded

There is also the paparazzi approach taken by the media. It's the chicken or the egg thing. Does Ron-Ron say stupid things because the media is always there or is the media always there because Ron says stupid things? Put another way, if Ron says something stupid in the woods and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Beacuse of his past deeds, Artest can't take a crap without the possibility of the media reporting on whether or not he ate corn (too graphic?). He has brought this on himself (anyone seen Tim Duncan in the news lately?), and it is indeed frustrating that one of our players gets celebrity level coverage. The fact that he's a New York guy probably doesn't help matters as it gets the east coast media involved (that's not intended to be a shot at ECM, it's just a fact).

I agree with NYCFan. Let's get the season started and give the reporters something tangible to report on - the games.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Aug 30, 2007 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions