A graph displaying how we felt about Artest last year compared to this year. Oh hey look, we still think he's insane. What's that spike at the very end? Oh, that's how insane we think he is for mentioning a sub-30 win team and the playoffs in the same sentence.

Emphasis mine:The phrasing would suggest Theus has already lost some credibility with the players.

But these are the eggshells that must be walked upon when you invest your future in Artest. And that's not a dig, it's just the reality of the type of personality you're dealing with.

I've always liked Artest's confidence, he thinks whatever team he's on is going to win the whole enchilada. But the reality is that we are not making the playoffs in the West, period. So this team's priority should be to analyze the young talent on the roster first, and win games second.

Artest for the Silver and Black's #1 pick. Davis is just crazy enough to go for it. Does that work within the trading runles Pookey?

Ron Artest - where the outrageous is commonplace.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I like Ron Artest, and I hope that he winds up somewhere where he can be very successful.

I think back to the time that Ron applied at Circuit City so that he could get the employee discount, and I wonder how he would fared as a CC employee had he gotten the job.

How many managers would he have gone through? How much would they have put up with, even if he were the most talented salesperson?

Would he have retained his job through the domestic and dog abuse situations?

What would the reaction have been had he questioned the motivation of his boss in front of the other employees, especially after missing a meeting because he stayed out too late the night before?

At some point Cicuit City would have to determine that the benefits of Ron's sales skills were not worth the headaches and distractions, wouldn't they?

And after all of that, would he lament that the problem is that he does not feel the love from the customers?

I'm not trying to draw a direct parallel here. I have the physical and mental tools to work at Circuit City and I certainly do not have the physical and mental tools to work in the NBA.

Perhaps it is that disparity between the NBA world and the real world that causes many fans to tire of Ron. That is, most of us work pretty hard at our jobs, do things that our bosses tell us to do even if we don't always agree, realize that we are not impossible to replace, and understand that we are not always right.

This is incredibly frustrating to watch. Ron has the physical tools to lead this team. But he cannot lead this team emotionally, and what makes it worse is that he is convinced that he is that guy.

Ron Artest is a $40 billion dollar airport with a 10 cent control tower. Fasten your seat belts - it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Fan House, you sum it up so well.  I dont really have much to add that hasnt been said a hundred times on these boards.  I just cant imagine how tiring Ron must be for the rest of the team.  Talk about a locker room distraction.