NBA Roundtable Discussion

[Guest]

I care about rings. When you have Kobe, you need to get rings now. Not when he's 36.

[alfdogg 0]

I'm having trouble finding words for this, mainly because I haven't really seen him play, but McHale had better hope Randy Foye is really, REALLY good. How did you not make a trade for Iverson if you're Minnesota.

[Precious Roy 0]

McHale is a bad GM. Between the Joe Smith fiasco, the numerous bad contracts he's handed out (Marko Jaric?) and the generally poor drafting it's amazing that he's kept his job for so long. Some of it you can say he had some bad luck, but then there's stuff like having Chauncey Billups blossom on his team and then let him walk to the Pistons for like 5mil per, just to turn around and give Troy Hudson the same contract. There's no excuse for shit like that. He's had KG for TEN YEARS and only once has he managed to build a contender around him, and that was only for one year.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Former Celtics from the 1980s Championship Squads just do not make great GMs. Even Larry Bird hasn't done the greatest of jobs.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

I care about rings. When you have Kobe, you need to get rings now. Not when he's 36.

I do too... but I'd prefer it if the Lakers were guaranteed contenders for the next 10-15 years, rather than winning two of the next three championships and then go to the bottom of the conference.

 

Like I said, I'm glad you're not running the team. I can't believe you would give up the future of the franchise AND Lamar Odom and God knows who else to get 30 year old Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd, who literally has probably three good years left. What happens in five years?

 

I guess I just don't understand evaluating this team when Lamar Odom is at 80%, Luke Walton & Kwame Brown (both starter quality players) are out, and the team still doesn't have a decent point guard. I hate when people talk personnel with a complete lack of respect for team chemistry and maturation.

[Guest]

We could still win with the team we've got, and if they do well in the playoffs this year, I'd back down from my trade desires. I sure would like to see Farmar starting instead of Smush.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

On that we agree. Can you believe Smush pulled that shit at the end of the game last night?

[Guest]

That not guard anyone for the entire final minute shit?

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Yeah. And then he fouled a three-point shooter. I honestly don't think the team would be that bad off if Farmar & Williams split most of the minutes at point guard.

[Vern Gagne 0]

McHale is a bad GM. Between the Joe Smith fiasco, the numerous bad contracts he's handed out (Marko Jaric?) and the generally poor drafting it's amazing that he's kept his job for so long. Some of it you can say he had some bad luck, but then there's stuff like having Chauncey Billups blossom on his team and then let him walk to the Pistons for like 5mil per, just to turn around and give Troy Hudson the same contract. There's no excuse for shit like that. He's had KG for TEN YEARS and only once has he managed to build a contender around him, and that was only for one year.

 

 

I blame Glen Taylor more for Joe Smith and Troy Hudson. The boss wants re-sign someone it's hard to say no.

 

Flip Saunders is at fault for Billups leaving.

 

KG isn't at fault for the Joe Smith incident, but he's the reason the team made the stupid deal.

 

 

What might be McHale's worst decision is the draft pick for the Clippers is only Top 10 protected. That means if Minnesota finishes with the 11th worst record, and ends up with the 3rd pick. The Clippers get that pick.

[Precious Roy 0]

What might be McHale's worst decision is the draft pick for the Clippers is only Top 10 protected. That means if Minnesota finishes with the 11th worst record, and ends up with the 3rd pick. The Clippers get that pick.

 

Protections are placed on the actual lottery spot, not the record/probability.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Steve Patterson, general manager of the Portland Trailblazers, unexpectedly resigned today. Didn't real give a reason other than his contract was up soon. It's a real bummer too. Since taking over in May he has totally overhauled that franchise. Hopefully whoever takes over can keep them on the right track.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_064160116.html

 

Son of a bitch!

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_064160116.html

 

Son of a bitch!

 

At least my "Free Ron Artest" shirt becomes relevant again.

[Timmy8271 0]

According to ESPN, Ron Artest was arrested for Domestic Violence.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Like it matters.

 

That worthless fuck will remain out in our society because he can play a game. Bless you, America.

[The Electrifyer 0]

As a guy with Kevin Martin on several on his fantasy basketball teams, I say: YES!

[Ripper 0]

As a guy with Kevin Martin on several on his fantasy basketball teams, I say: YES!

 

 

I was just about to say. I wouldn't be suprised if Kevin Martin called the cops about the dogs. Artest fucks up his game.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

According to ESPN, Ron Artest was arrested for Domestic Violence.

So I'd heard...

[alfdogg 0]

GEOFF PETRIE STATEMENT

 

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – "The Kings have excused Ron Artest indefinitely from any further participation with the team due to his arrest today for domestic violence. The Kings will continue to accumulate reliable and official facts and information over the next several days before taking any further action."

NBA.com

[Ripper 0]

Reading it though, its like Ricky Williams all over again. You know, he willfully fucked up like 8 times in a row but was kinda screwed over on number 9 but who the fuck cares because of the other 8.

 

But really, Ron was just arrested for pushing the woman while he was trying to leave, then as he was trying to leave she threw a flower pot through his car window. If it were the other way around, he would still get arrested. Domestic violence charges piss me off sometimes because women can get away with a hell of alot and just call the cops and they know it. Makes it tough for all the legitimately abused women out there.

[Darthtiki 0]

Artest removed from Kings after arrest

Domestic violence charge is the latest in string of troubles

By Kim Minugh -

Published 1:25 pm PST Monday, March 5, 2007

Sacramento Kings star Ron Artest has been removed from the team indefinitely - with pay - following his arrest Monday morning on suspicion of domestic violence at his Loomis home.

 

The Kings announced the move Monday afternoon, though the team said it would continue to monitor any updates in the case. Artest has been released from the Placer County Jail after paying $50,000 bail.

 

A woman reported the domestic violence incident in a 911 call at 9:23 a.m., according to the Placer County Sheriff's Department. Officials would not confirm the identity of the caller, saying state law prevents them from identifying victims of domestic violence. A witness to Monday's altercation confirmed to The Bee that the incident involved Artest's wife, Kimsha Artest.

 

Deputies arrived to find Ron Artest waiting on the front lawn of the Loomis residence. He was "very calm, cooperative," said Sgt. Andrew Scott, one of the responding deputies. Officials said the victim "had injuries but she declined medical attention." Scott declined to elaborate on the nature of the injuries.

 

Scott said deputies arrested Artest on suspicion of domestic violence and of using force or violence to prevent a victim from reporting a crime after they determined through multiple interviews that a crime indeed had occurred. Artest had pushed the reporting party to the floor several times, Scott said, and took the phone from her when she tried to call 911.

 

At some point, the argument spilled outside, Scott said. Upon arriving, deputies found Artest's Hummer parked out front with a smashed windshield.

 

The Sheriff's Department sought an "emergency protective order" against Artest, preventing him from returning to his home or contacting the victim, which officials said is a common procedure. She has five business days to request a permanent protective order.

 

Deputies responded to the Artest home for a domestic disturbance on at least one other occasion, according to a Sheriff's Department report. They were called to the residence Nov. 8 but no arrest was made. The victim requested only that the incident be documented, according to the report.

 

Following its usual policy, the NBA withheld comment in the immediate aftermath of Monday's arrest and would not speculate on whether the case would lead to a suspension for Artest.

 

"We're just gathering the information and monitoring the situation right now," said Mark Broussard, the director of basketball communications for the league. "At this point, there's not much more we can say."

 

No discipline is expected soon, though. If the case is resolved during the offseason and Artest is suspended, the penalty will be served at the start of the 2007-08 regular season.

 

"We let it run its course through the legal system" before deciding, Broussard said.

 

It was not a human but a reportedly malnourished canine named Socks that most recently drew scrutiny for Artest off the court. Placer County animal control officers seized a black Great Dane from Artest's Loomis home in early February, citing a law requiring animal caretakers to "provide proper sustenance."

 

Officials said at the time that Artest could face misdemeanor or felony charges and a fine of up to $20,000.

 

Socks remains in county custody after being treated by a local veterinarian, said county spokeswoman Anita Yoder. She said an investigation into the case is "wrapping up," with the possibility of a report being forwarded to the district attorney's office for potential prosecution.

 

Artest attributed the dog's malnutrition to an inattentive dogwatcher and a food-hogging American bulldog, who Artest claimed ate Socks' food. But Allan Frumkin, president of the Sierra Ridge Estates Homeowners Association, said neighbors had come to him with concerns about Artest's care of his dogs prior to Socks' confiscation. Some feared the incident with Socks was symptomatic of a greater issue.

 

Following the incident, the homeowners association amended their rules to require that residents properly care for their dogs.

 

God damn it. Ron you had a 2nd chance you went an pissed it away.

 

EDIT: After listening to the tape, it seems as if Ron-ron is getting a bad rap because he's Ron Artest. His wife seems way to collected on that call.

[alfdogg 0]

Well, that didn't take long.

 

Kings' Artest apologizes, returns to squad after arrest

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Five days after his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, Ron Artest said he'd stumbled as a father and husband -- and the Sacramento Kings announced they would let the volatile player return to the team.

 

"First, I want to apologize to my wife, to my family," Artest said Saturday.

 

He then lowered his head and fought back tears for nearly a minute before continuing. "I want to apologize to the Kings, to my teammates, to the NBA, everybody."

 

"I definitely want to apologize for my behavior even to the ... whole NBA, all the players, because the league is doing so well right now ... and Ron Artest once again is in the media for something other than basketball and I apologize."

 

The Kings had excused Artest indefinitely Tuesday from all team activities, one day after he was arrested at his home in a Sacramento suburb. A woman called 911 and said she had been assaulted, and a police report said Artest had slapped the woman's face and grabbed her repeatedly, causing visible injuries on her hand and leg.

 

At the hastily called news conference to announce Artest would play Sunday against the Denver Nuggets, Artest promised to begin volunteering with domestic violence groups in Sacramento and said he would work to repair his personal life.

 

"I definitely stumbled by what happened with my family, and I took a step back as being a father and a husband, and I'm looking forward to the day when I can make that right," he said.

 

Professionally, Artest also said he was sorry for once again giving the NBA a black eye.

 

"I definitely want to apologize for my behavior even to the ... whole NBA, all the players, because the league is doing so well right now ... and Ron Artest once again is in the media for something other than basketball and I apologize."

 

Artest is best known as the central figure in the 2004 brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans. He received a 73-game suspension and lost almost $5 million in salary for jumping into the stands and slugging it out with the public.

 

Artest and teammate Stephen Jackson were sentenced to one year of probation and 60 hours of community service after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from the 2004 brawl.

 

In January, Artest was released from that probation.

 

Geoff Petrie, the Kings' president of basketball operations, said he deliberated for five days before deciding to allow Artest to return to the team after the latest incident.

 

"Obviously, the events of this last Monday remain a very, very serious issue going forward," Petrie said. "However at this point in time and place we feel it's important for Ron to come back and participate and rejoin the team and start playing again."

 

Petrie did not say what would happen if Artest is formally charged with a crime or convicted.

 

"Fundamental to our decision, really, to initiate Ron's return to the team, is based on the principle, the underlying principle, that the presumption of innocence still stands -- not just for Ron, but for all of us."

 

Artest faces a March 22 arraignment. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and using force or violence to prevent a woman from reporting a crime. He was released later the same day after posting a $50,000 bond.

 

Although he named NBA Commissioner David Stern several times in his apology, he said he has not spoken to the commissioner since he was arrested.

 

In the two games while Artest was banished, Sacramento beat the Indiana Pacers and lost to the San Antonio Spurs. The Kings began the weekend just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

 

Artest, acquired 14 months ago in a trade with Indiana, is the Kings' second-leading scorer. He averages 18.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

 

Artest described his five-day absence as a tough time, but one he used to clear his head and "to breath a little."

 

Asked if the latest incident would be a distraction on the court, Artest said he doubted his play would be affected.

 

"That's not a problem," Artest said. "The hardest problem is everything else. Basketball, that's easy."

[Guest]

Tuesday report

 

My only question walking out of practice Tuesday was $25,000 or $50,000. It’s hard to imagine how Phil Jackson doesn’t get fined for painting the picture of a league that has a "vendetta’’ against Kobe Bryant and twice using the term ``witch hunt.’’

 

Jackson certainly had his feelings on the NBA’s decision to assess Bryant a flagrant foul penalty 1 for catching Philadelphia’s Kyle Korver in the face with an elbow in Friday’s game. If you want to play David Stern, here are Jackson’s unedited comments:

 

Q: Were you happy about the league just giving Kobe a flagrant 1?

 

Jackson: It shouldn’t have even been a flagrant 1. That’s crazy. That’s a vendetta. They have a witch hunt going on. That’s nuts. A guy’s riding somebody. Everybody does that in this league. It’s just becoming a witch hunt now.

 

Q: Do you have any idea why?

 

Jackson: I think that obviously once something happens like that and a lot of videotape starts floating around and people are making cuts of things that are happening, there’s a lot of focus on him.

 

Q: Have you guys sent in tape to the league of him doing the arm motion on his shot?

 

Jackson: Not that I know of, unless Mitch (Kupchak) has asked our video guy to do that. We’re just collecting things right now.

 

Q: Is it worrisome when these incidents involving Kobe have been no call, loose ball foul and no call on the court and you end up with two one-game suspensions and a flagrant foul?

 

Jackson: It is an after the fact type of thing. That is bothersome. They have (the) advantage of looking at videotape. We wish that they would correct some of the mistakes they make in ballgames the same way. There’s a couple games that probably could be swung, won or lost, by some of the calls if they’d correct them after the fact. But you can’t do that in the game.

 

Q: Stu Jackson said after the second suspension that he didn’t need to consult with the referees because he could watch the video replay. Do you think they should talk to the actual referees before they do something?

 

Jackson: You’d think that would happen, just off-hand. Even the details of the (Marko) Jaric foul, from what I understand, Jaric got on his arm before he got to the ball. So the shot’s coming, he hits his arm. Kobe’s reacting to his hand. The whole play ensues.

 

If a referee sees that, he might have called the first foul and not the second. A lot of referees will let a touch of the arm go if a guy pulls his hand back when his shooting motion begins. I mean, that’s how our game’s become.

 

In those situations, the referee might have said, `Hey, he hit his arm first and Kobe reacted to that first arm touch and tried to draw the foul. But it doesn’t look like they’re making that accommodation at all.

This is going to turn into way more than a 1 week thing. So I'll put it here.

 

No, I don't think this will be the last time this season that Kobe gets suspended. I'll leave the rest of my thoughts on the whole thing until he gets suspended after the Portland game.

 

I found more. Wow.

 

Why would I hear from the league?" Jackson asked rhetorically. "I think you can take any player in this game that's an aggressive basketball player and do an isolation film on him and you'd have an amazing amount of aggressive activities. I know one of our former players, Karl Malone, delivered a blow every time he shot the ball. It's ludicrous, is what it is."

 

"It's insulting to me," he said. "I don't need to be a dirty player. I think it's something that people just want to talk about and continue to talk about despite how many players say that I'm not. Personally, I just don't feel the need to be a dirty player. It's insulting. It is."

 

"Anybody who's going to be aggressive out here in basketball, you've got a lot of physical activity," Jackson said. "There's a lot of stuff going on. He's clearing space to get the ball, he's being real aggressive.

 

"Last year, [Allen] Iverson clipped our boy Sasha [Vujacic] in the mouth, gave him a bloody lip. It's a physical game. I know it's not a contact sport per se, but it's a physical game and there's a lot of intimidation. I think that Kobe plays the game within the bounds. There's a certain rule that we have in this game about how to play it. The men play it. That's why it's called the NBA — it's No Boys Allowed."

 

Let's use the Vlad fine money to fund the 6 figure fine Phil is sure to get. Glad to see he isn't going to take it like a bitch.

[Just John 0]

The NBA is out to get Kobe... Yeah.

[Guest]

I don't know. Stu Jackson said he didn't even talk to the refs. There's nothing wrong with that, come on now.

 

I don't think they're out to get him, persay, but the league hasn't gone about this whole thing the right way from step 1.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The NBA, who is ridiculously over-the-top at protecting their stars at any and all costs is out to get Kobe Bryant, who happens to be one of their biggest and most marketable stare. That one doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

The whole thing is simple: stop elbowing people in the face!

[Guest]

They are so ridiculously over-the-top at protecting their stars that they suspend the best player in the league without speaking to game officials about the incident.

 

You can be a Kobe hater all you want, but if this shit happens to Wade or LeBron it would just get brushed under the rug and forgotten.

[alfdogg 0]

"Anybody who's going to be aggressive out here in basketball, you've got a lot of physical activity," Jackson said. "There's a lot of stuff going on. He's clearing space to get the ball, he's being real aggressive.

 

"Last year, [Allen] Iverson clipped our boy Sasha [Vujacic] in the mouth, gave him a bloody lip. It's a physical game. I know it's not a contact sport per se, but it's a physical game and there's a lot of intimidation. I think that Kobe plays the game within the bounds. There's a certain rule that we have in this game about how to play it. The men play it. That's why it's called the NBA — it's No Boys Allowed."

Was this before or after Vujacic threw him to the ground on a fast break?

[Guest]

Dunno. I don't remember incidents that happen with our scrubs. So pretty much everything that happens not involving Kobe and Bynum, I don't remember. All of Kobe's suspensions before these two were warranted IMO, so those are the only ones I'm complaining about. The Miller elbow last year probably should have been more games than what he got. I wouldn't care so much if they would have kicked Kobe out of those games right when the incident happened, honestly. At least then you're going about the incident like it was a big deal when it happened.

 

Except for Cook's dirty plays, I remember every single one of those. And they come often.

 

Phil would know about favoritism. He coached Michael Jordan.

 

EDIT: If nobody wants to talk about it, that's fine. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I just wanted to post something to read and something different than Mavs, Suns, Spurs shit, because to be quite honest I'm fucking sick of those teams. I'd probably rather talk about the WNBA than those 3 teams, because there are fucking 27 other teams in the NBA.

 

I'll let sleeping dogs lie with this topic if it doesn't get any responses.