Artest Says "King Me!"

                        

The awkwardness is over...and now gamblin' time comes.  Indiana is gambling that they can survive without Ron Artest.  Sacramento is gambling that they can with him. 

I think it is a gamble worth taking for both teams.  For Indiana, it somewhat brushes away two years of lint that's been sticking around for too long.  I mean, how many games has Artest even played for the Pacers over the past two years???   Indiana stood by Artest even as he was dubbed the most horrible player to ever suit up in the NBA.  Artest repays them by coming back this year and telling the team he doesn't want to be around any more. 

He heads to Sacramento, now, despite yesterday saying he didn't.  That's all moot now.  What isn't is what will become of the Kings?  The Kings have been known as, well, soft over the past several seasons.  They've had a guy who's wife runs his life....a guy who clips his fingernails on the bench....a guy who has been known to shy away from the clutch situations....and a center who's best defense was falling down.  Artest will bring toughness.  Infectious toughness.  The kind of guy that will help elevate everyone's defense around him.  Not so much as a shot blocking center would....but in a sense that he won't need as many switches or doubles as Peja did.

Ah.  Peja.  The antithisis of Artest.  Peja isn't known as a defensive presence nor as a tough cookie.  But, a couple of years ago....he was the NBA's 2nd leading scorer.  Maybe a change in scenery will do him good.  Especially to a team that's been used to setting screens to free up Reggie Miller. 

But what about the teams?  The Kings get one of the prized players that the Lakers, Clippers and Warriors were all bidding for.  Those teams are all Pacific division rivals...and the teams that the Kings will be battling for playoff position with.  For Indiana, they get a Reggie Replacement.  Sure, they lose some on defense...but they get a pure shooter that can stretch out the defense and allow Jermaine O'Neal to work inside.  And, it isn't like they'll miss Artest anyways.....now they got someone to take his spot. 

Let's see how these dice roll.