Rumor: Warriors Making a Run for Ron Artest
Ric Bucher was on ESPN's Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning show earlier today discussing the Shaq-Matrix deal between the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns [2.6.08]. The juiciest part of the interview actually pertained to the Warriors though. Here's a transcription:
There was some weird rumor floating out there that the Warriors would make a run at Ron Artest. What was proposed out there doesn't work as far as numbers are concerned, but that's another team. The Warriors are another team that I could see going for broke and signing Chris Webber wouldn't be the end of it.

BOOMing at the Roaracle?.
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
A few thoughts after the jump!
UPDATE (4:23pm): Also check out GSoM friend TZ's thoughts about this rumor over at Sactown Royalty- Bucher: "Mumble Mumble Ron Artest Mumble Mumble Golden State Warriors"
I won't lie. I've wanted the Warriors to bring Artest to the Bay since 2005 when the rumor mill (for what it's worth) suggested that Chris Mullin wouldn't part with Ike Diogu in a trade with the Pacers to make it happen. We all know what happened a year later of course between the Warriors and Pacers when Mullin was finally willing to part with Ike.
I won't lie. I play with ESPN's Trade Machine dreaming up packages to bring Ron Artest to the Bay way more than I'd like to admit. You can probably guess from my recent interview question with Tom from Sactown Royalty.
I won't lie. If the Warriors can add Ron Artest to this squad before this year's trading deadline and it came down to it this summer, I'd probably hold onto him over Monta Ellis or Andris Biedrins (not both of course).
I won't lie. I see tons of benefits from adding Artest:
- Ron-Ron's a stud. When his head is on straight he's one of the best two-way talents in the league. He's better than his stats would suggest.
- There isn't a single player in the league who brings it nightly on both sides of the floor like Ron does. You think other teams and star players like playing against him? He's like that schoolyard bully you can't stand when he's punking you, but love when he's on your side.
- If the JRich trade (which I still think was foolish for this year) helps facilate bringing Ron Artest to the Warriors in any way, like I said back then- it was a hiest.
- If there's anyone who can use Ron right, it's Nellie. I've heard Nellie laud Artest's game on The Don Nelson show on KNBR with The Razor and Mr. T on more than one occasion. I don't think it's a secret that Nellie thinks highly of his two-way game.
- Chris Mullin really knows how to buy low on the trade market (e.g. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson) and come out as a big winner.
- Stephen Jackson has already shown he's (ready to throw) down with Artest.
- Baron Davis and Artest go way back.
- After BD's recent snubbing, I just have this feeling that the best thing for this team is to get a whole bunch of people who have a chip on their shoulders together on the hardwood.
- Fantasy Junkie and I on IM today:
FJ: barnes, jax, baron, artest? talk about a hot head team
Atma: haha it would be wild
FJ: i'd be scared to play against them
Atma: they'd scare so many soft teams. think the mavs, suns, spurs want to see that?
FJ: not at all
- DJ Fuzzy Logic on IM after hearing the rumor:
hahaha
yea, another crazy dude on the warriors
only nellie can harness that craziness
I won't lie. If the Warriors can add Ron-Ron at a reasonable cost this year, you'd have to think of them as championship contenders... and it's been quiet a long time since you could say that about the Dubs. Decades long.
Like De La Soul would say STAKES IS HIGH. The West is loaded but the Warriors are only 5 games out of 1st place in the mighty West. It's time to go all in.
I'm know I'm in. I'm sure Nellie, CWebb, Boom, are Jack are all in. Are you?
Does Artest in a Dubs jersey make sense? Would it vault them to the level of a championship contender?
Also see: Rumor: Warriors Interested in Ron Artest
The Golden State Warriors BLOG Days:
- Chad Ford on the Warriors (1/26/06)
- Getting (ar)Testy
- Ready for Artest Baggage
- Ron-Ron Info
- Move Youth?
- Pacers Want Ike
- Warier Warriors
- Be Classy About Trade Rumors
- Baron Boys with Artest
- Rumors Not Helping
- Artest Rumors-- Shhhh!
- Murphy Package for Artest?
- Dunleavy Package for Artest?
- Artest+Johnson for Murphy+Dunleavy
- Artest? "$@#% yeah!"
- Foyle + Dunleavy for Artest? Free Artest!
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!
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61
comments
Comments
Final Artest bonus
by Ben Q Rock on Feb 6, 2008 2:02 PM PST 0 recs
word
by gsw4life on
Feb 6, 2008 9:37 PM PST
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Love to see it
I'm for it, but at the right price.
by WilliamVanLandingham on Feb 6, 2008 2:15 PM PST 0 recs
asdf
and you know for that reason I would love for this trade to go down.
by WilliamVanLandingham on
Feb 6, 2008 2:41 PM PST
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ya reuniting them in Oakland with BD
by gsw4life on
Feb 6, 2008 9:38 PM PST
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i will
by baller90210 on Feb 6, 2008 2:16 PM PST 0 recs
A Trade that Works
Here's a trade, catered around that rumor, that would work in terms of the numbers:
Throw in a couple of Sacramento's garbage minimum players here and there to even out the roster spots, and you have a deal that works under the CBA.
I'm not exactly sure on how intent Sacramento is on blowing up their team like that (they aren't as bad as we think), but this trade would give them 2 young talents on cheap contracts (Belinelli and Perovic), $6.4million in expiring contracts, and $7.4million in immediate cap relief via JRich TPE (for comparison's sake, this is a better deal than what Memphis got for Gasol). If this is really what Sacramento wants to do, and they want to shed Brad Miller's contract with 3years/$33+mil remaining, this would be a smart route to go.
Our depth chart could look something like this:
Baron / Payton / Watson
Jackson / Ellis / Azubuike
Artest / Jackson / Barnes
Webber / Harrington / Wright
Biedrins / Miller / Webber
That is one deep team that could do some things in the playoffs.
by jlagace on Feb 6, 2008 2:26 PM PST 0 recs
Cohan
by jlagace on
Feb 6, 2008 2:29 PM PST
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I'd definitely go with that
by sup3rk1ng on
Feb 6, 2008 2:33 PM PST
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I don't see Sac accepting this deal
by gsw4life on
Feb 6, 2008 9:45 PM PST
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ehhh
by bigbenny11 on Feb 6, 2008 2:27 PM PST 0 recs
Well
I would not question Ron Rons loyality, he seems to be down for his teams. If we get him this year, we got him locked, he's not going anywhere.
by The Barnes Supremacy on
Feb 6, 2008 2:40 PM PST
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I wouldn't give up monta or beans for him
by sup3rk1ng on Feb 6, 2008 2:30 PM PST 0 recs
ahh
by bigbenny11 on Feb 6, 2008 2:36 PM PST 0 recs
Too many 2/3's + No Al @ the 4?
by Bucky on Feb 6, 2008 2:38 PM PST 0 recs
Ron Ron
by gsw4life on
Feb 6, 2008 9:46 PM PST
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what i came up with
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=3019~3021~2173~25&teams=23~23~23~9& ;te=&cash=
by World Sleepy King on
Feb 9, 2008 1:21 PM PST
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The big factor
It'd be insane to dump some talent for a rent-a-player with how beastly the West is, but I'm fine if it becomes a long-term thing.
Other factor: How many emotionally unstable guys can you have on one team?
by dprodigy19 on Feb 6, 2008 2:46 PM PST 0 recs
Seems ludicrous
They get young guys (Perovic, Belinelli), expiring (Croshere, Pietrus), some dude I've never heard of, and drop $13MM of contracts over the next few years...which would be a net of like $10MM for them. Not too shabby. The value they receive is in youth and shedding contracts.
Ours is self-explanatory.
by noava22 on Feb 6, 2008 3:33 PM PST 0 recs
Mladen Sekularac
http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/mladensekularac.htm
Sounds like our secret weapon, haha.
by noava22 on
Feb 6, 2008 3:37 PM PST
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jax davis artest barnes
webber can add in his scowl if he likes lol.
we'd be pistons west.
by dso on Feb 6, 2008 3:47 PM PST 0 recs
and
gangstas
by vietnameezboy on
Feb 6, 2008 3:50 PM PST
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Gangstas
Can you imagine Monta, Artest, and Jackson double teaming the opposing big, our defensive and rebounding problems would be solved.
Jackson is a great defender already, having Artest would make us and even better defensive team.
I could see it now: Artest stripping people, and thowing outlet passes to a break-away Monta for a Jam.
I just worry about Ron's Offense, b/c he loves to run Iso's for himself. Which, often leads to bad shots and Turnovers. Jackson is a victim of this too, but he is a much better shooter than artest.
I think this would be worth a shot, as long as the King's don't ask for a King's Ransom.
by 3 The Hard Way on
Feb 6, 2008 4:04 PM PST
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I'd Like Artest But....
by Hoopachoo on Feb 6, 2008 4:19 PM PST 0 recs
22-24 Just isn't gonna cut it
by bsmithinc on
Feb 6, 2008 4:33 PM PST
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hmmmm
we should trade the heats for cash and their first round pick for pob and petrius though
by 8monta on Feb 6, 2008 4:21 PM PST 0 recs
I'm for it....
by bsmithinc on Feb 6, 2008 4:29 PM PST 0 recs
D'Antoni
it might not be smart
in Phoenix, a certain run&gun coach just got handed the ultimate Lincoln Continental which is going to force them to abandon a great deal of his philosophy
is it possible that D'Antoni would be available when we need to replace Nelson, and if he is would you pass on him for smart?
just wondering
by hardcore on Feb 6, 2008 4:41 PM PST 0 recs
another artest trade idea
i agree that the only good that can come from the j-rich trade would be receiving a veteran like artest for the TPE mullin is still sitting on. also, i am not sure why sacramento has not pulled the trigger on dumping player salary yet, but they are not competing and they have young talent to build on so they should make at least 3 or 4 moves immediately.
i never think trading directly with a division rival is a good idea, but helping them achieve their trade goals is ok by me as long as it doesnt make them better immediately and we achieve our goals too. plus, how many teams actually want artest except denver? what can denver do for sacramento?
so here is my trade scenario:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=167~3019~2173~61~556~193~933~406~601~796&a mp;teams=23~5~14~5~14~9~23~14~23~23&te=3196:5-904~25:9-1018&cash=
i am not positive about health status of each player in this scenario, but we have two teams that want to compete in seperate conferences and two teams that would be wise to dump salary commitments so they can reset for next year.
with weber, beidrins, harrington and barnes, i do not agree that we need to bring in another big man and perovic should probably start getting the garbage time since nellie seems to hate o'bryant. i also think davis is going to make it 82 games this year so with him and watson at the pg spot we still have a hole in the rotation that currently wears the number 2. in fact, even with the addition of artest, you still have to be worried about possible injury to either artest, jackson, or ellis so artest may not be enough of a talent injection.
ricky davis is not my favorite player, but he can run circles around pietrus.
p.s. happy b-day gsom!!
by stedanko on Feb 6, 2008 4:48 PM PST 0 recs
how could i forget kalenna?
by stedanko on
Feb 6, 2008 4:58 PM PST
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what else can they do?
they could wait on both bibby and miller until next season, but from the owner's perspective, the kings have a very expensive roster this season with very few sellouts. plus, niether player will be worth MORE in trade value next season compared to this season. cleveland wants bibby now and if the kings wait, they may find themselves without a trading partner for bibby's services. will they extend him again? would you? miami can use miller this year and next year with marion coming to town, but i have no idea who would accept him next season.
sacramento would love to dump kenny thomas, but it won't happen this season and i doubt they could get anyone to accept shareef this season either. those 2 contracts are almost as bad as the foyle contract that cohan had to buy out last summer.
i suppose it comes down to motivation of the kings ownership and gm, but it can be argued that a change is needed for any team unable to compete for playoff position after 2+ seasons with 5 players making over $45MM(& 7 making over $55MM).
by stedanko on
Feb 6, 2008 9:40 PM PST
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All I have to say is...
by garin423 on Feb 6, 2008 4:48 PM PST 0 recs
lol
by warrior510 on
Feb 6, 2008 5:07 PM PST
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Harrington
by allonyou on
Feb 6, 2008 5:52 PM PST
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wasn't artest's rap album called
welcome home.
by dso on Feb 6, 2008 5:10 PM PST 0 recs
tru warier, even
;)
i'd still stay we go for it, though.
by OaktownWarrior on
Feb 6, 2008 5:26 PM PST
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oh yeah and may i add
by dso on Feb 6, 2008 5:10 PM PST 0 recs
For Al, straight up,,,plus the TPE?
big
Baron Davis
Stephen Jackson
Ron Artest
Chris Webber
Andris Biedrins
small
Monta Ellis
Baron Davis
Stephen Jackson
Ron Artest
Chris Webber/Beans
run N fun
Monta Ellis
Baron Davis
Stephen Jackson
Ron Artest
Brandan Wright :0
Of course I would rather keep Al, if we can!
Monta Ellis
Baron Davis
Stephen Jackson
Ron Artest
Al Harrington
Baron Davis
Stephen Jackson
Ron Artest
Al Harrington/Webber
Andris Biedrins/Webber
Bench
CJ
Buke
Barnes
Webber/Harrington/Biedrins
by buhdydub on Feb 6, 2008 5:17 PM PST 0 recs
I bet this one goes down
...
Coach Don Nelson makes no apologies for his single-minded sense of purpose when it comes to Harrington. And with the recent addition of forward-center Chris Webber, Harrington probably will venture into the paint even less."
from: http://origin.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_8183202
It almost feels like the stage is getting set for some exits. I doubt if AB and Wright are feeling all warm and fuzzy about Nellie's ooozing of Chris Webber because no matter what they say, you know it is going to come down to them playing less.
But I do think Artest would be a good addition - I've always liked him and I think the rekindling of him and Jackson on the same team would result in some major powerhouse points.
by centerre on Feb 6, 2008 7:11 PM PST 0 recs
diary-worthy
by eshock on
Feb 7, 2008 12:17 AM PST
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Agreed
by flaaron on
Feb 7, 2008 6:47 AM PST
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dude
by GameSix on
Feb 7, 2008 9:27 AM PST
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let's do it
by shootda3 on Feb 6, 2008 7:15 PM PST 0 recs
Ron Ron!
by ZenMaster on Feb 6, 2008 7:22 PM PST 0 recs
Hmm...
Sacramento:
If I'm the Kings GM, I would love to unload one of their bad contracts in an Artest trade(Thomas 3yr @ 7.9 mil, and Reef 3yr @ 5.8 mil).
As far as talent coming back, you have to wonder what state of mind they are in. Are they thinking rebuild or retool? If they think they have a shot at the playoffs (haha) they might take back a long term contract on a productive player (Harrington), but I'm guessing not.
Best case would be something like:
Cap relief, up to about 10-15 mil in expirings and or exceptions
Draft picks
Young prospects, preferably productive with at least a couple years left on their rookie deal
for
Ron and Thomas/'Reef
With Ron-Ron's history and the other deals that have been made I highly doubt that they get that.
If they can get a fraction of that cap relief and some combo of picks and prospects, they probably jump on it.
Warriors:
From the Warriors perspective we could offer them cap relief and prospects/picks, but would it be worth it? We could offer (as some have proposed) a few of our expiring contracts(POB, MP,Croshere) and a couple cheap prospects(Marco, Kosta) for Reef. Then in a separate deal we give up a pick for Artest, using the TPE to absorb his contract. Would this be enough? Who knows, but it would offer them some serious financial relief and some youth with upside.
Where would this leave us? Well we would be pretty beastly for the rest of the season. We would not be giving up anything we really use, but we would be risking our future and possibly creeping into the Lux tax this year (I haven't really checked).
If Artest opts out and leaves we would still be stuck with Reef's (or Thomas) deal which would make it very difficult to keep our young guys (AB,Monta,Buke) without heading into serious Lux tax territory and we wouldn't even have Artest. If he decided to stay it means we would have to make some very tough choices at years end. Beans or Monta...
I have tried to be as objective as possible, but it's only fair that I say I am not an Artest fan. He has caused problems everywhere he has been and although he is a rare talent on defense, he is a total ball-stopper on offense (not a good match for us). But I can't lie though I would love to watch Baron, Jack, Artest, Barnes and AB play defense together.
. WERD
by olympicmike on Feb 6, 2008 7:48 PM PST 0 recs
I agree with this
I think Artest is actually a borderline personality/mentally ill
by Zig on
Feb 6, 2008 8:50 PM PST
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If they
by semarubaka on Feb 6, 2008 8:01 PM PST 0 recs
if it does happen...
by celicadriven27 on Feb 6, 2008 8:35 PM PST 0 recs
IT... COULD... WORK!!!
S:
Davis
Ellis
Jackson
Webber (He ain't dead yet, mofos!!)
Biedrins
B:
Artest [He'd be our Dennis Rodman, minus the whole marrying himself thing :^)]
Azubuike
Barnes
Croshere
Harrington
Perovic
Watson
Wright (He'll either be on the trading block or our Josh Smith in the next couple of years)
by DABayBoi on Feb 7, 2008 6:14 AM PST 0 recs
... and one more thing I just thought of...
by DABayBoi on
Feb 7, 2008 6:19 AM PST
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We're not signing Gary Payton.
by kenntoe on
Feb 7, 2008 12:42 PM PST
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ron ron
Can rebound and defend and shoot 3's
Big question is sac management as dumb as memphis'?
Would give TPE, POB, Pietrius, cash and/or a 2nd rounder for Ron and SA or KT..
Thoughts?
by 11allstar on Feb 7, 2008 1:05 PM PST 0 recs
Pull the trigger...
by AngryVader on
Feb 7, 2008 5:29 PM PST
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On singing Artest
by blkdiemend on Feb 7, 2008 6:32 PM PST 0 recs
1st Rounder
by DABayBoi on
Feb 7, 2008 6:52 PM PST
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It's still all a money question
All of the below is contingent on Cohan not being willing to eat luxury tax.
Trading for Ron Ron will eat up cap space which we need to re-sign most of our players (Monta, Beans, Buke, Barnes, etc.). Signing Ron Ron will likely mean losing Monta, Beans, or multiple others. This is going to kill our future. If we trade away some of our rookies, we're just further depleting our team.
If we want to keep any of the youngsters, we need to let the TPE expire, wait till the offseason to go after anyone, and just accept the obvious: that we are going to go after the championship with this obviously flawed team.
I'm 100% sure Mullin is thinking long term. Nelly and BD may disagree, but long term isn't that far off. If BWright is as advertised, and as he's shown, he'll be a productive member of the team in 1-2 years. Kosta might make his 43PER felt on a more consistent basis in 2 years. Monta and Beans are going to mature further, and if BD sticks around for two more years, we'll have a monster. Nelly is another question, but if you look at Dallas, it's not such a bad thing to have a team created by Nelly and then run by somebody who can give the team a defensive attitude.
by Dubs fan in Boston on Feb 8, 2008 6:48 AM PST 0 recs
GSoM friend Marcus Thompson...
Warriors should shoot for Artest
http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_8215892
by Atma Brother ONE on Feb 9, 2008 9:39 AM PST 0 recs












