One of the beautiful things about Summer, if you can say that in Sacramento this time of year, I maintain you can't, but one thing is the longer days. The Weather to spend outside (snicker now for those living in 100 degree heat and non breathable air), or the time to take vacations in cooler climates where the temperatures are a bit more tolerable. Right? Well, in the NBA it's money time. And money time has proven to be a bit tricky this go around.

Josh Smith and Luol Deng are in tricky spots that will see them almost certainly take the qualifying offer's. Andre Igoudala may end up taking the 50 million from Philly now the grass seems better with that 50 mill promise hanging around. None of those guys ever believed they would get that little. They all believe they're superstars. In their own mind anyway. The truth is that negotiation's are tricky with any Free-Agent let alone a 22-24 year old one who has been in the league for 4 seasons. I said at the time, and it's my opinion, that the Kings overpayed Kevin Martin. After seeing what Monta Ellis got, and with perhaps his total upside having been tapped with a potentially crippling position change looming for Ellis, it could make Martin's money to be of the large savings variety. Like, say, on a Steve Nash level. (That's assuming alot. I won't cross that threshold till it comes. Still, it's a barometer I would like to use in this argument for the future.) That's something only time can tell. Again, and I say again, those who have criticized Petrie's giving out of deals perhaps forget that Martin got what every other young talent out there got. (Or was rumored to have been offered. The lone exceptions are the studs like Wade, James, Stoudemire and Howard. I don't think anybody here thinks K-Mart is on that level.) And he's happy about it. He wants to be a leader. He wants to be the "man". Those are all things that interest him, but he hasn't gone about in a derisive way. I say be thankful. These developments loom large as the Atlanta dipshits, I mean Hawks, continue to reel from Childress departure to Olympikos, and the poor negotiating posture with Josh Smith.

With Artest having been bandied about so much, and with pretty much every position under the sun having been taken around here (with maybe the notable exception of throwing Artest to the Wolves; and I don't mean a lifetime punishement of being banned to play in a Wolves uni), I'm going to attempt to clarify why I think the Cavs are in a strong position to make a run for Artest if they choose.

First, and I say foremost, they have the expiring contracts to get a deal done with the Kings principals (Artest and Thomas) in Snow and Szczerbiak. But let's adding something else to the deal so that the Kings and Cavs have a reason to do a deal. So, let me propose this. The Kings send Artest, Thomas and Mikki Moore to Cleveland for Wally Szczerbiak, Eric Snow and a future 1st round draft choice. The Kings move Thomas and Mikki Moore for an expiring contract and a 1st round choice, and the Cavs don't take on a greater luxury tax burden for this season and beyond by only doing a Wally/Artest k9 swap. They get a chance to try out Artest and Moore, and perhaps dangle Thomas to a team looking to clear cap space for 2010. (I doubt it, but I keep seeing all kinds of wierd theories popping up on what the Kings could do with this and that. This is mine.) I would do this deal in a heartbeat even at the risk of sounding folksy & downhome. I'll risk it. But that's me.

I think there are unknown factors for this too. I think the deal with Artest could prove to be fruitful for all his abilities to combine with LeBron's. Neither guy is a single postition player which makes pairing them not so difficult as say, Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Kaman. That would make for a more difficult pairing says I. But I think the bigger factor here is Gilbert's willingness to help improve the Cavs. And maybe more accurately, to do anything he can to keep LeBron in the fold in Cleveland. I'm fairly sure Gilbert would hire hookers to give LeBron handjob's on the bench when he's resting or something, assuming LeBron asked for it.

I think the 2 biggest reasons Cleveland would enter the sweepstakes is because they A) have asset's like Snow and Szcerbiak to offer, and B) Mike Brown has had past history with Artest. He knows what he's getting. He knows the problems with Artest in the locker room in Indiana. He knows because he was there. Firsthand experience far outweights any secondhand history around the L. That makes a huge difference. (That's the only reason Dallas became a destination for Artest in the eyes of many was solely of Carlisle saying he still liked Artest. Why can't Mike Brown enter this arena too?) Before Brown was hired by the Cavs, he was Rick Carlisle's Assistant Head Coach in Indiana, for those who aren't aware. That helps the Cavs figure out if he's worth it. (It's also worth noting Brown was there during Artest's best season in 2003-04 when he won defensive player of the year.) Via Wiki:

In 2000, Brown was hired by Gregg Popovich as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. While with the Spurs, Brown’s teams won at least 58 games each season. He also was the head coach for the Spurs’ summer league teams in Boston and Salt Lake City. After winning a championship with San Antonio in 2003, Brown was hired as associated head coach to Rick Carlisle with the Indiana Pacers. He helped lead Indiana to consecutive playoff appearances including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004.

Do I think this deal works for both sides? Well, yes I do actually. I think it works better than anything out there for the Kings, and it gives the Cavs incentive, as well as the Kings, a chance to shed salary and gain a good player. That I think is why the Kings should look at the Cavs as the best option. It might not be preferable to trade Moore this season, but then again, is it beneficial in keeping him? I don't think so, and especially if it entices the Cavs to complete a deal such as this.

I would much rather be in the Kings position trading Artest, than the Bulls/Hawks are with Deng and Smith. I would much rather trade asset's a little too early then trade them in a sign & trade. And here's why (capologist note: big up's to Ford for recognizing that S&T's do make a player become BYC):

Only one team -- the Grizzlies -- has any real cap room. But it appears that the team isn't going to use it to pry away a restricted free agent. So … restricted free agents have three options: 1. They can take the one-year qualifying offer and become unrestricted free agents next summer. 2. They can sign for a "market value" deal that is probably far less money than they think they're worth. 3. They can push for a sign-and-trade to another team. All three options are pretty unappealing at this point. Option 1 puts a lot of pressure and risk on the free agent. Option 2 would mean that players like Andre Iguodala, Luol Deng and Emeka Okafor sign for less money than the extensions they turned down last summer. Option 3 is tricky because of league trade rules that make most restricted free agents base-year compensation players (meaning their salaries are very difficult to trade).

One complication with sign-and-trade deals is that the signed player can immediately become a BYC player (see question number 73 for more information on BYC), so the player's BYC value must be used when determining whether the trade is allowed.

Base year compensation (BYC) prevents another salary cap loophole. Without BYC, a team over the salary cap that wants to trade a player, but can't because of the Traded Player exception (which says teams can't take back more than 125% of the salary they trade away), could just sign the player to a new contract that fits within the desired range, then do the trade.

BYC says "if you re-sign a player and give him a big raise, then for a period of time his trade value will be lower than his actual salary." BYC defines the salary that's used to compare players for compliance under the Traded Player exception (see question number 68 for more information about the Traded Player exception). Usually the salary used for comparison is the player's actual salary. But under either of the following circumstances, a different salary is used when comparing salaries for trading purposes: The team is over the salary cap, used the Larry Bird or Early Bird exception to re-sign the player, and the player received a raise greater than 20% (unless it's the minimum salary). The team is over the salary cap, it extended the player's rookie scale contract, and the player received a raise greater than 20%.

So I submit this. You trade Artest for cap room, and a draft pick from Cleveland. You move Moore and Thomas along with him creating pure cap room for all 3 guys in the form of 21 million dollars. With Miller, Martin, Udrih, Salmons, Hawes, Thompson, Brown, Singletary, Ewing Jr, Douby and with Garcia's/William's cap number changing what you could be looking a team with 50 million dollars like JJHam has been saying for awhile now. This is of course noting that Abdur-Rahim won't be on the roster next season one way or another. That could be worth doing if only because a team with cap room can make things happen (like an uneven money trade),  Personally I think you do this deal, and you create a possibility by carving up more cap room by waiving Shelden Williams and Quincy Douby and going after that Carlos Boozer. (I don't think it's possible, but what the hell since everyone else is doing it, and calling me crazy for saying it isn't likely, it's summer--who gives a flying flip?) So, even if the Lakers come calling with Lamar Odom I say screw him. Only Cleveland can offer cap space for 3 players on the Kings roster starting in 2009, and maybe throw a draft pick in too, and that's only something Cleveland has with expendable talent. That IS why I think this deal makes sense. Because of Ferry's need to pacify and ultimately satisfy LeBron, because the Cavalier's don't take a huge money hit by doing this deal (they're taking a hit already why not go for the gusto?0, and because they can afford to give up that 2009 1st rounder without a hint of a problem. Because of Mike Brown's past history with Artest. Because the Kings need to start rebuilding, and the only way they can do that is with cap room. Because the Kings, if they don't trade Artest, aren't winning the championship next year, and sticking themselves in the Bulls or Hawks shoes where they are good enough to get themselves in sticky posturing and poor negotiating level's in the process, need to commit to blowing this up now, get a draft pick or two, watch the young kids play, while allowing for natural growth no less, and let the Kings develop a new identity that allows the fan to root for an underdog. Or maybe the 70 degree heat and quality air has mindfucked my brain. You decide.