Isiah Thomas, Knicks Want to Trade for Ron Artest | NBA

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Please let this happen.

Isiah Thomas is seriously considering a run at Kings Forward/Humanitarian Ron Artest. Armed with Zach Randolph, the only possible result that could make the 2007-08 New York Knicks ~~police blotter~~ more entertaining is if Thomas could also swing a deal to net Stephen Jackson.

Armed with two new trade pawns in the expiring contracts of Dan Dickau and Fred Jones, the advent of free agency and a new edict that character no longer matters, Isiah Thomas wants to swing another deal or two this month.

While free-agent Rashard Lewis is their pipe dream, on-the-block Ron Artest is more attainable. Thomas had stayed clear of his former player because of his list of violent transgressions that soured owner James Dolan. With the acquisitions of troubled Zach Randolph, the character issue is dead.

Just imagine this starting lineup:
PG - Stephon Marbury
SG - Jamal Crawford
SF - Ron Artest
PF - Zach Randolph
C - Eddie Curry

That is just too much. At this rate, just trade for Sebastian Telfair and Isiah can finalize his new book, "How Not to Run a Franchise."

Source: (New York Post)

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7/3/07

0	Darius Miles is another Thomas favorite. I heard they can get him for cheap.

7/3/07

1	Provided Randolph stayed out of trouble, and Artest remained even somewhat sane, thw Knicks would have a decent team. On the offensive end they would be solid. On defense... well they would have Artest..... That is still a team that could be at least decent in the playoffs (only because the Knicks play in the East)

7/3/07

0	Ty wrote: Darius Miles is another Thomas favorite. I heard they can get him for cheap. yeah but i doubt even Isiah is stupid enough to add his contract... Randolph is a much better player then Darius. At least he is worth the risk.

7/3/07

thegangsteryaar wrote:

Provided Randolph stayed out of trouble, and Artest remained even somewhat sane, thw Knicks would have a decent team. On the offensive end they would be solid. On defense... well they would have Artest..... That is still a team that could be at least decent in the playoffs (only because the Knicks play in the East)

Yeah, Artest's grit might be a significant boost in NY. So, how would we all react - not that I'm predicting this - if NY came out of the east for the NBA finals next year?

7/3/07

thegangsteryaar wrote:

That's kind of like saying - Provided the Kansas City Royals could pitch, hit and field better ... they'd really be a contender in the AL.

7/3/07

kantwistaye

1	You can get away with one crazy guy on a team, but not two. I really really really hope this happens.

7/3/07

0	CriticalFanatic wrote: That's kind of like saying - Provided the Kansas City Royals could pitch, hit and field better ... they'd really be a contender in the AL. Nah, it may be fun to bag on the Knicks, but there's a lot of proven talent (in terms of individual production) in that starting five you mentioned. Lee's no slouch either. Ability wouldn't be the concern with that squad.

7/3/07

0	CriticalFanatic wrote: That's kind of like saying - Provided the Kansas City Royals could pitch, hit and field better ... they'd really be a contender in the AL. not at all because artest, and randolph actually HAVE talent... they just lack focus and the determination to stay out of trouble and prosper on the court all the time. the royals dont have the talent other teams do.

7/3/07

blipper21 wrote:

Nah, it may be fun to bag on the Knicks, but there's a lot of proven talent (in terms of individual production) in that starting five you mentioned. Lee's no slouch either. Ability wouldn't be the concern with that squad.

You proved my point --- there is a lot of individual talent. You couldn't put together a worse team if you tried (apologies to Danny Ainge and Billy Knight). All these guys NEED the ball in their hands. You really think this team can win games?

7/3/07

if they finally start playing like a team they have the talent to. and that doesnt prove your point at all. you quoted "That's kind of like saying - Provided the Kansas City Royals could pitch, hit and field better ... they'd really be a contender in the AL." THE KNICKS ACTUALLY CAN DO IT, they have the players to do it, and they have the talent to do it. They just need the motivation to play team basketball. Unfortunetly the Royals can be the most motivated team in the majors but they still wouldnt go very far (especially in their division)

7/3/07

CriticalFanatic wrote:

Does that mean your point was that the Royals have a lot of individual talent?

I know were talking two different sports here, I'm just saying the analogy was maybe a bit exaggerated.

Remember, we're talking about the East, where NY finished 7 games out of the playoffs (82-game season; not great) without Randolph or Artest. The Royals finished 31 games behind the lowest AL playoff seed (162-game season).

Side Thought: Does that mean the Royals were twice as bad as the Knicks?

7/3/07

blipper21 wrote:

Does that mean your point was that the Royals have a lot of individual talent?

"Provided Randolph stayed out of trouble, and Artest remained even somewhat sane" ... is a ~~bit~~ lot exaggerated. Thus my follow up exaggeration. Neither are going to happen.

7/3/07

mell_1289

0	blipper21 wrote: Yeah, Artest's grit might be a significant boost in NY. So, how would we all react - not that I'm predicting this - if NY came out of the east for the NBA finals next year? I would LMAO if they got to the Finals. I don't care who they pick up, that won't happen.

7/3/07

CriticalFanatic wrote:

"Provided Randolph stayed out of trouble, and Artest remained even somewhat sane" ... is a ~~bit~~ lot exaggerated. Thus my follow up exaggeration. Neither are going to happen.

Fair enough. I was going to say "lol", but on a more sober personal note, let's hope things do change for those guys.

For the record, I'm not saying this would be my model for constructing a team. However, from a basketball standpoint, I'm not sure how much we can criticize their current offseason (including getting Artest, if they do). Keeping in mind that they're a non-playoff team taking risks.

They turned Francis and Frye into Randolph (and two expiring contracts?). Besides the obvious scoring, Randolph will give them a good rebounder whom they'll start (since they bring Lee off the bench).

Re: acquiring Artest, does any starter on that team play solid defense right now?

Yes, these personalities/characters may end up being a Big Headache in the Big Apple, but how many players would they have had to scrap (for low value?) to go in a different direction?

7/3/07

mell_1289

thegangsteryaar wrote:

not at all because artest, and randolph actually HAVE talent... they just lack focus and the determination to stay out of trouble and prosper on the court all the time. the royals dont have the talent other teams do.

CF's analogy is just like what you said! Basically you said that, Provided Randolph could stay out of trouble, Artest remain sane, and they would play together then they would have a decent chance of competing in the East.

So what's the difference between that and what CF said? Either way, they are missing key components to be a contender! I think that is what CF was saying so it does make sense

7/3/07

0	CriticalFanatic wrote: "Provided Randolph stayed out of trouble, and Artest remained even somewhat sane" ... is a ~~bit~~ lot exaggerated. Thus my follow up exaggeration. Neither are going to happen. yeah... ill agree with that. its not gonna happen

7/3/07

mell_1289 wrote:

So what's the difference between that and what CF said? Either way, they are missing key components to be a contender! I think that is what CF was saying so it does make sense

the difference is that the royals cant be good even if they tried while the knicks could with effort. thats the difference in simple terms. but i agree with him on his last and final point...

7/3/07

mell_1289

0	thegangsteryaar wrote: the difference is that the royals cant be good even if they tried while the knicks could with effort. thats the difference in simple terms. but i agree with him on his last and final point... haha alright. I really just put that for the sake of argument anyways!

7/3/07

0	mell_1289 wrote: haha alright. I really just put that for the sake of argument anyways! lol its cool

7/3/07

0	come to think of it, the last guy with off court issues (and on court issues) the knicks traded too helped them a lot. he was a solid player and quickly became a fan favorite. Latrell Spreewell.......

7/6/07