I need some sleep. Lets hope GP pulls through for us. I would be happy with Kleiza.

And obviously I never want to see Tyronne Lue in a Kings jersey much less wearing #10, a second round pick for him would be great.  And Artest as a mentor?  Who is running the asylum now?

"Nuggets coach George Karl said he expects to have his current team for the remainder of the season."

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_8320262

"With the NBA trade deadline at 1 p.m. today, Nuggets coach George Karl called it a "1 percent chance" Kleiza will be moved. Karl said he's "betting" against a trade."

The article says the Nuggets could try to get Delonte West, Sam Cassell or Kyle Lowry before the deadline.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/21/nuggets-unlikely-make-trade/

Yeah, if I were a betting man, and I am, I'd bet on Artest not being moved and taking Shelden under his wing and teaching him how to mash. Which is fine I guess. Who better to teach you to be nasty than Ron Ron?

is if they form a hip-hop group rapping about huge foreheads and huge bank rolls.

"Rivals have been speculating all week about another blockbuster that would send Sacramento's Ron Artest to Denver before the trade deadline Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.

Here's my question: What is taking so long?

It's a simple equation. If the Nuggets trade for Artest, they become a contender to run the table. If they don't make this trade, they'll be at best a second-round team, and more likely a loser in the opening round for a fifth successive year.

Trading for Artest would be a bold move, but the Nuggets have to go for it."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/02/21/deadline.notes/

Please trade him there. I beg you.

Hey man, let's go to this place Muss told me about. If you give the girl a $5 bill, she sticks it in her cooter and sqeezes out singles to put in her g-string. I find that quite ribald.

Looks like Dallas needs a big man.  How about putting a cowboy hat on Lorenzen Wright and shipping him to Dallas for a second round pick?  Wright is still a serviceable player who is never going to get off the bench in Sacramento, and the Kings could probably just re-sign Justin Williams.

How many points will Artest score against Charlotte Friday?

TRADE 2A: Sacramento trades Ron Artest and Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Golden State for Brandan Wright, Patrick O'Bryant and Austin Croshere.
Why Sacramento does it: The Kings save $8 million this season, pick up a valuable trade exception, dump Shareef's contract and pick up a lottery pick in Wright. That's a no-brainer. In fact, you'd have give Geoff Petrie a standing ovation for turning Artest and $18 million of washed-up guys (Mike Bibby and Shareef) into two high lottery picks (Shelden Williams and Wright) and expiring contracts. That's how it's done. By the way, I would sell high on Artest if I were running the Kings -- he's never played better and he's never seemed more sane, but deep down, we know he's not sane. That's why you trade him right now.
Why G-State does it: Because Artest fits in with everything else happening there -- he's crazy, he can play multiple positions, he can play any style, and he'd be absolutely devastating in NellieBall because of his unparalleled talent for guarding bigger players. At crunch time, the Warriors could trot out Biedrins, Artest, Jackson, Ellis and Davis and match up with any team in the West. ... Better yet, they'd be intimidating and nuts and unpredictable and everything else you'd want from a lower seed. I wouldn't want to go anywhere NEAR THESE GUYS if they had Artest. Besides, could you put a price on the emotional Artest/Jackson reunion, even if it only lasted for a few months? We'd have to put stun guns underneath the seats of the first few rows for every Warriors game. I can't handle the thought of Artest playing for Golden State; it's so exciting and crazy that I think I just peed on myself.
(By the way, I'm tired of reading the rumor that Denver could give up Linus Kleiza, Eduardo Najera's expiring deal and a No. 1 pick for Artest. Have you watched Kleiza? He's legitimately good and the Nuggets have him locked in at a cheap price. Yeah, Artest is a better player, but look at the strong personalities on that Denver team: Melo, Iverson, J.R. Smith, Nene, K-Mart ... and now you're throwing Artest into the mix and asking George Karl to somehow handle all of these guys? It sounds like a sick psychological experiment or something. I'd rather have Kleiza, Najera and my No. 1 over rolling the dice with that emotional rollercoaster of a team every night. We've seen what Karl does with crazy, headstrong teams. The results aren't pretty.)
Trade 2B: Houston trades Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder and its 2008 No. 1 pick to Sacramento for Ron Artest and a 2008 No. 2 pick.
Why Sacramento does it: That's a pretty good haul for Artest when he could bolt four months from now -- a valuable supporting guy at a fair price, along with a pick in the low 20s. So what if Battier went to Duke? You can't hold that against him. He didn't know any better when he signed there.
Why Houston does it: The deal knocks them under the luxury tax and makes the Rockets a little more interesting as a title contender -- they could go small with Artest at the 4 and/or run plays for him at crunch time, and he'd give them a fiestiness and an edge they don't quite have right now. The Rockets seem a little soft to me. I'm not saying it's Battier's fault, but he's the best trade chip for them because of his contract and his pedigree. You could always use Shane Battier on your team. I like this deal for both teams, actually.

I actually really like both of those trades, but the first one would be great.  Lets make it happen Petrie!

TRADE 2A: Sacramento trades Ron Artest and Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Golden State for Brandan Wright, Patrick O'Bryant and Austin Croshere.

Why Sacramento does it: The Kings save $8 million this season, pick up a valuable trade exception, dump Shareef's contract and pick up a lottery pick in Wright. That's a no-brainer. In fact, you'd have give Geoff Petrie a standing ovation for turning Artest and $18 million of washed-up guys (Mike Bibby and Shareef) into two high lottery picks (Shelden Williams and Wright) and expiring contracts. That's how it's done. By the way, I would sell high on Artest if I were running the Kings -- he's never played better and he's never seemed more sane, but deep down, we know he's not sane. That's why you trade him right now.

Why G-State does it: Because Artest fits in with everything else happening there -- he's crazy, he can play multiple positions, he can play any style, and he'd be absolutely devastating in NellieBall because of his unparalleled talent for guarding bigger players. At crunch time, the Warriors could trot out Biedrins, Artest, Jackson, Ellis and Davis and match up with any team in the West. ... Better yet, they'd be intimidating and nuts and unpredictable and everything else you'd want from a lower seed. I wouldn't want to go anywhere NEAR THESE GUYS if they had Artest. Besides, could you put a price on the emotional Artest/Jackson reunion, even if it only lasted for a few months? We'd have to put stun guns underneath the seats of the first few rows for every Warriors game. I can't handle the thought of Artest playing for Golden State; it's so exciting and crazy that I think I just peed on myself.
(By the way, I'm tired of reading the rumor that Denver could give up Linus Kleiza, Eduardo Najera's expiring deal and a No. 1 pick for Artest. Have you watched Kleiza? He's legitimately good and the Nuggets have him locked in at a cheap price. Yeah, Artest is a better player, but look at the strong personalities on that Denver team: Melo, Iverson, J.R. Smith, Nene, K-Mart ... and now you're throwing Artest into the mix and asking George Karl to somehow handle all of these guys? It sounds like a sick psychological experiment or something. I'd rather have Kleiza, Najera and my No. 1 over rolling the dice with that emotional rollercoaster of a team every night. We've seen what Karl does with crazy, headstrong teams. The results aren't pretty.)

Trade 2B: Houston trades Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder and its 2008 No. 1 pick to Sacramento for Ron Artest and a 2008 No. 2 pick.

Why Sacramento does it: That's a pretty good haul for Artest when he could bolt four months from now -- a valuable supporting guy at a fair price, along with a pick in the low 20s. So what if Battier went to Duke? You can't hold that against him. He didn't know any better when he signed there.

Why Houston does it: The deal knocks them under the luxury tax and makes the Rockets a little more interesting as a title contender -- they could go small with Artest at the 4 and/or run plays for him at crunch time, and he'd give them a fiestiness and an edge they don't quite have right now. The Rockets seem a little soft to me. I'm not saying it's Battier's fault, but he's the best trade chip for them because of his contract and his pedigree. You could always use Shane Battier on your team. I like this deal for both teams, actually.

It's a lot easier to read broken apart like this.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/

Getting kind of contentious in here. Might as well stir the pot.

I agree with coolcat, who gives a shit if he's a nice guy? If he plays like he has been the past couple games on a regular basis, ron can punch a fan in the arena for every game the rest of the season while sodomizing a puppy.

Look, we've had the guy for the better part of 3 years, and if I've learned one thing about Ron it's that he says exactly how he feels, but he may not feel that way the next day. Is it frustrating? Hell yes it is, but at the same time, he's the right guy at the right time for right now. When did the climate in the NBA change to the point where if you don't think you're going to sign a guy you need to trade him and his expiring contract for 30 cents on the dollar? Worst case scenario, he still comes off the books at the end of the season. Yeah, a pick would be nice, but would you rather have another midteens pick or would you rather have a guy who's an undersized power forward taking our recently aquired top 5 pick undersized power forward under his wing, even if only for 4 months, and showing him the little things that help when guarding bigger opponents like Shelden will be doing most of his time at the 4 and/or 5?

Is anybody else watching billy king on this trade deadline special and thinking that every time they throw it to him they should be required to say "and now, the guy who traded for chris webber and bought out his contract and traded awat allen iverson, the only guy who could once challenge Isaiah Thomas for worst GM in the NBA, Billy King"?

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