Jul

2

Artest Having Second Thoughts About Opting Out

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main, SDC COMMENTARY 

??????????????????????????????? Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest

Ron Artest, to his credit, is never dull.? On the other hand, one could add the term naive to the superlatives that have been heaped onto him during his NBA career.? Apparently Artest is second-guessing himself lately, especially after Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand and soon-to-be Clipper Baron Davis put themselves on the free agent market; according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Artest now wishes that he had opted out of his current contract instead of playing out the final year - which pays him $7.4 million?next season.?

Artest may have thrown the first salvo in what may be his last season in a Kings uniform by telling ESPN.com, “I think I made the biggest mistake by staying in my contract and I have to live with it.? I had some misleading information [in making the] decision on not opting out. [But] I still thank God for all his blessings and being able to play basketball and help people.”? Artest let slip past him the opportunity to opt out of his current contract this past Monday - under the assumption that the Kings would sign him to an extension this summer, although there haven’t been any real signs by the team that they would do so.? Artest also assumed that he would only draw interest from teams at the mid-level exception level, under the thinking that the Kings or another team would sign him long-term if he had a big season.

By declining to opt out of his current contract, Artest just increased the likelihood of playing somewhere else between now and the February 2009 trading deadline - a “sign-and-trade”, if you will.? And you can rest assured that Artest will draw plenty of interest should that scenario play itself out.? The Lakers may revisit the opportunity to obtain Artest, in light of the fact that their defense has been singled out on occasion and the fact that Artest and Kobe Bryant are good friends.? So in the grand scheme of things, I would say at this juncture that it is a matter of when, not if, Artest gets traded from the Kings.? Artest just needs to know that playing the “blame game” will not exactly endear you to the general public.



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