Quincy Douby just doesn't have as much pull as he used to.

(Hint: Bring Reggie next time. You know these bouncers grew up on Hang Time.)

Every week or so, I come across a random quote which asserts (to me) Ron Artest really doesn't want to get traded. Here's the latest one:

There are varying opinions around here as to Artest's value out there; one thing we should be able to agree on: The suitors pool is one less as Miami is on the verge of giving up.

The Bee's Sam Amick talked with Ron Artest about his young ailing daughter. Basketball isn't very important sometimes.

As promised this summer, Ron Artest is fighting the length of his suspension stemming from his domestic violence arrest last spring. More accurately: The NBA Players Association is fighting the length of the suspension.

Something I hadn't seen reported before: The 'standard' suspension for domestic violence issues is three games. (How disturbing is it that there's a standard suspension length for beating your wife? Good God.) Ron, I assume, got a longer sentence because his track record.

I sincerely doubt the league will cave on this, and I'm positive the players association won't press this to arbitration. So expect 'John Salmons, NBA starter' for seven games to start the season.

Might as well be etched in an oak tree. From the Kings.com blog's summary of off-camera media questions to Kevin Martin last week:

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

I have a confession to make. I really like Ron Artest. For the most part, I'm glad he's on our team.

I have a love/hate relationship with him, much like that the city of San Francisco likely has for Barry Bonds. From my limited knowledge base, I've been told that Ron-Ron is a very nice guy who cares for his kids, and his play on the court, while a tad self-centered at times, is fun to watch - both on defense and offense. One need only look at TZ's video from the game against the Spurs to see who forced San Antonio to turn the ball over at the end of the game. Mr. Artest himself.

While Artest's on-court ability has largely never been questioned, he has a certain knack for controversy. Whether the Auburn Hills brawl, or CD shilling, or the domestic abuse charges, Ron-Ron stays in the headlines for things that have close to zero to do with basketball. That's why I was less than surprised to see that Artest himself had to weigh in on the Michael Vick death-spiral, only months after he made headlines for issues with the way he'd cared for his dogs.

From the AP Wire...

Seems to me, just after most of us had moved on from the charges that Artest had neglected Socks to the point of starvation, that aligning his name with that of Vick, a virtual pariah at this point, isn't the kind of association one should be looking for. It certainly doesn't make it look like Ron-Ron is a future candidate to run the local ASPCA. But that's our Ron-Ron, a man who marches to his own drummer, public perceptions be damned.

Lots of good stuff in the interview by Andrew Nicholson of the Kings.com blog, including this key lesson about the disposition of primates.

Seriously, though: Kudos to Ron. Many, many NBA players do stuff like this in the summer (Kevin Martin is leaving on a Basketball Without Borders trip in a few weeks), but Ron made time for a second trip, this time to Honduras. He may be a black hole, he may be borderline insane. But he's trying to do something right, and he should be commended. Even if he likes to eat ostrich balls.

UPDATE: The worldly J.C. Ness takes Andrew and Ron to task for their respective lack of Kenya knowledge. Am I slow because I breezed through the interview without sneezing at the (now obviously questionable) misfirings? No, I'm just easily distracted by shiny things ostrich balls.