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dingodile wrote:I just don't see how this helps Sac Town. Assuming they would let Lamar walk at season's end, then the only benefit of the deal is shedding Kenny Thomas' contract. Just doesn't add up.

DEEP3CL wrote:

dingodile wrote:I just don't see how this helps Sac Town. Assuming they would let Lamar walk at season's end, then the only benefit of the deal is shedding Kenny Thomas' contract. Just doesn't add up.

You just answered your own thoughts. Adds up fine in Sac Town and LA quite well.

Kings get cap space and could be a major player in 09 free agent sweep stakes. And Lakers get a SF who can defend and a over paid PF who hustles and gives you what Ronny does, plus his contract give the Lakers decent space after the 09-10 season.

In a series of e-mails he sent to ESPN.com late Saturday and early Sunday, Artest continued to lament his decision to pass on an opportunity to become a free agent July 1 by announcing that he is now representing himself without an agent and expressing hope that he will soon be traded to "a team out there that can be more committed than Sacramento to me."

That team is believed to be the Los Angeles Lakers. Almost from the minute they were routed by the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals -- which Artest attended in Boston to root for friends Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom -- it has been strongly expected throughout the league that the Lakers would revisit their longstanding trade interest in Artest and eventually acquire the enigmatic forward sometime this summer to address the defense and toughness issues that the Celtics exposed.

But NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Sunday that the Lakers -- fond as they are of Artest and confident as they are that they can get the best out of him through Phil Jackson's coaching and Artest's respect for Bryant -- are reluctant to part with Odom in an Artest swap. That stance, if the Lakers hold firm, would almost certainly prompt Sacramento to look elsewhere for a trade partner.

The most consistent trade chatter involving Artest suggests that the Kings would want Odom in return for Artest and Kings forward Kenny Thomas.

Artest, for his part, is now openly pushing for a move, telling ESPN.com that he's suddenly feeling a chill from Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof in the same desert where, just two summers ago in 2006, Joe Maloof proclaimed him to be the new "face of our franchise."

bove310 wrote:if the laker board killed mangina, me-sa gonna be pissed off.

GuyClinch wrote:Of course the Lakers should do it. But Sac might as well just hold Kenny Thomas for the extra year though and turn his negative into a positive. They aren't at the cap - and they are not going to go broke with the Maloofs in charge.

This sounds more like a dream for the Lakers then anything positive for the Kings..

threrf23 wrote:Kings are not a great team to begin with, and they'd be losing their best player. Odom's good but not as good as Artest.

But, Bynum/Gasol/Artest/Kobe/Whoever, with serviceable role players on the bench, would put LA in a hell of a position if this rumor is credible.

sully00 wrote:Artest to Miami is just stupid. Marion is a better player and not crazy and can play the 3 or the 4. Because of his game and salary Marion should be able to land Miami more than Artest and an overpaid backup PF.

The Kings would probably like Josh Howard from Dallas but as the Los Angeles Lakers are reluctant to part with Lamar Odom, Artest's "difficult" personality will probably prevent Sacramento from landing such well established players.

Bass may garner interest elsewhere if the Mavs truly want to move him, but the Kings aren't the slightest bit interested in acquiring him for Artest. HoopsWorld

Faced with a “weird” situation with center Andrew Bynum, the Los Angeles Lakers are toying with the thought of bringing back Kwame Brown, a free agent.


The Lakers made it to the NBA Finals last season and found themselves in a collection of dire mismatches with Boston. For starters, Los Angeles had no one to contend with Celtics center Kendrick Perkins’ size and strength. “They could have used Kwame in the Finals,” said one Lakers insider.


Tex Winter, the longtime coach and team consultant, was in Las Vegas to evaluate the Lakers’ summer league team. Winter said he is totally out of the loop on personnel decisions with the team and hadn’t heard of the Kwame deliberation, but Winter said it makes sense, especially for Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “Phil has always liked Kwame,” Winter said. “Phil’s always felt that defensively he’s pretty good.”


Then there’s Jackson’s fascination with Sacramento forward Ron Artest. Would the Lakers trade Lamar Odom to get him? Jeanie Buss supposedly insists that Odom is safe, but the Busses are moving through another summer of discontent, looking for an answer. HoopsHype.com