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**Peja Vu** · 02-21-2008, 08:10 PM

It gets crazier every day.

Quote:

"Of course (Artest not being traded) changes a lot of about your perspective; a lot of things change," said Stevens, whose client will earn $7.4 million next season if he doesn't opt out. "Exercising our option at this point is possible, but not likely.

"It's possible, but it's not likely to happen at this point."

Artest's previous position that he would likely opt out left the Kings in an unfavorable position, as not trading him meant they could lose him this offseason for nothing in return unless they were able to execute a sign-and-trade with another team. They decided to keep him nonetheless, a move partially motivated by the lack of trade proposals they considered worthy but also because the notion of Artest remaining in their future remains.

Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said his high opinion of Artest as a player hasn't changed. And while the notion of the Kings re-signing Artest once seemed implausible whether it was this summer or the next, the possibility now clearly exists.

"That's Ron's choice to make on his opt out," Petrie said. "(But) we'll work through that when we get there. In the meantime, Ron is in a great space, is playing well. (Kings coach) Reggie (Theus) really enjoys having him. He's got everything in the world to be playing for....I don't know for certain what the future's going to hold."

Nor does Joe Maloof, although the Kings co-owner indicated that it could certainly involve Artest for the long term.

"It's a great possibility that he will stay with us, and that we will be able to have him for the future," Maloof said. "My advice to him would be Go out, play the rest of this season as hard as you can. Stay a good teammate, and at the end of the season we'll sit down and talk about a future. It's impossible right now to decide what the future is until we see what happens in the next two months."

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/730413.html

**Peja Vu** · 02-22-2008, 01:01 AM

Quote:

MARK STEVENS (Artest's agent)

On the general approach even if Artest does opt out...

Whether it’s one summer or two summers (until Artest is a free agent), Ron still has to play for a contract because that’s the name of the business. Now of course if we can enter into a negotiating process with Sacramento this summer and we can both agree on a contract, it would be favorable because it’s security. Why would we wait an extra year to be put in the same situation that we’re in that same summer? If we can get something done, and it’s favorable and it’s honest, then of course we’d look to do it.

On the level of Artest's desire to remain with the Kings long term...

Ron is a Sacramento King. They took the risk on him in making the trade (from Indiana). That has gone a long way with Ron and myself. Ron is a loyalist. He appreciates the chance they took on him to help build his career back, and that will never be forgotten.

JOE MALOOF

On his present-day view of Artest...

With the exception of one or two problems, he’s been tremendous in our community. He’s given back. He spends a lot of time with kids. People like him. They genuinely like him. He has a nice following.
I think he’s had some pretty good years with us now. He knows the (Maloof) family, knows the city. I think he feels more and more comfortable. We want what's best for him, for his family, if it's good for the organization. I think basically, his future depends on him, what he does.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...es/010720.html

**Yao Mania** · 02-22-2008, 02:57 AM

uhm... huh? So what are Sactown's plans anyway? This team confuses me.

**Weasel** · 02-22-2008, 11:01 AM

This is confusing, wasn't just a few weeks ago that Artest said he was going to opt out and that he didn't see himself staying in Sac for long.

**Peja Vu** · 02-22-2008, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weasel

This is confusing, wasn't just a few weeks ago that Artest said he was going to opt out and that he didn't see himself staying in Sac for long.

Right after Bibby got traded, he changed his position on being in Sac:

http://www.basketballforum.com/sacra...-sac-year.html

But he will probably change his mind a couple more times before the season is over.

**Peja Vu** · 02-22-2008, 11:45 PM

Quote:

"Go Kings go! Go Kings go!" Artest yelled. "We don't need any cheerleaders. Go Kings go!"

Yet just minutes later when Artest was asked if he was happy to still be a King, the smile was no longer on his face.

"I have no comment," Artest said. "The most important thing is winning. That's the only thing that makes me happy. I'm happy when we win. I'm a sore loser."

Quote:

But that means Artest, averaging 19.4 points, could leave in the offseason with the Kings getting no compensation. But for the first time Friday, Artest acknowledged he and agent Mark Stevens have discussed not opting out of the final year of his contract.

"He changed the whole plan," Artest said. "I thought we were going to do it but he said he wanted to go about it in another way. It's up to my agent. You don't know who's going to offer you money. I don't know if anybody wants me."

Artest's heavy baggage, from a brawl in Detroit to other legal issues could make other teams shy away. Yet Theus praised Artest on Friday for how he has stepped up his defense along with his scoring.

"From what I've been reading in the blogs, everybody hates me, so I don't know," Artest said. "What I read in the blogs, nobody loves me."

Forward Kevin Martin then interrupted Artest.

"Ron isn't going anywhere," Martin said.

Artest wasn't so sure.

"I don't know. I'm not really worried about it," Artest said. "Wherever God is going to put me, he's going to put me."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3259681

**Peja Vu** · 02-23-2008, 11:25 AM

Ron Artest put a Kings uniform back on Friday, perhaps happy about it and perhaps not, perhaps planning to leave the team in another few months and perhaps not.

Quote:

A day after the trade deadline passed without an Artest deal, the forward refused to define whether this was good news or not, saying, "I ain't got no comment. The most important thing is winning. That's the only thing that makes me happy."

Before the game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Artest sang in the locker room and sounded upbeat in conversation but also noticeably avoided a commitment to the Kings. He would not say he was happy the trade deadline passed. He would not clarify contradictory statements that he probably would opt out of his contract to become a free agent July 1 (Artest's past comment) or probably would not opt out (Artest's agent on Thursday).

"Not sure," he said when asked what happens in the summer. "I'm not worried about it. Vacation."

He must have some thoughts on his plans, he was told.

"I don't know," Artest replied. "From what I read in the blogs, everyone hates me."

The Kings have two more months before the regular season ends. In the meantime, they have a starting small forward playing at a very high level, distractions or not, uncertainty or not.

**Peja Vu** · 02-25-2008, 11:00 PM

Artest says he's content as a King

Quote:

"The (Kings) team likes me; the players like me; the franchise likes playing me," Artest said. "There are a lot of good reasons to be in Sacramento still."

Yet as Artest knows, he might have been dealt if the Kings had received offers they deemed fair value. As it was, the most notable situation, with Denver, was hung up because of a player who isn't even a starter (Nuggets small forward Linas Kleiza).

"They were trying to bargain shop," Artest said. "They were trying to get government cheese, and I'm Kraft."

The Artest of old returned in another way, as he took talk of reaching the playoffs to another level, saying the Kings still could surge to as high as sixth in the Western Conference. They are in 11th place, seven games out of the No. 8 spot shared by Denver and Golden State.

And after his agent said Thursday that Artest is not likely to opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent, Artest said he's content in Sacramento for now.

"Coach (Reggie Theus) has been going to me," he said. "What more could a player who wants the ball want, when your coach is going to you and asking you to win games? I've got to be blessed and thank God for the situation I'm in right now."

Playing with the Kings beyond this contract, of course, would require co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and basketball president Geoff Petrie to make a competitive offer this summer or next.

"I guess I can put a camera in Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs' office and see if they might want me," Artest said with a laugh.

**Peja Vu** · 04-03-2008, 01:05 AM

He scores 30 points, then says he'll likely return to the team next year

Quote:

And when Artest sat alone at his locker long after the end, he said these are the sort of fun times he wants to keep happening next season. With a summer fast approaching in which Artest can become a free agent if he so chooses and opt out of the final season of his contract, he said the likelihood remains high that he will remain in Sacramento.

"Most likely we won't (opt out)," said Artest, speaking for himself and and his agent (Mark Stevens) who said on Feb. 21 that his client was "not likely" to opt out. "Most likely we won't. We're not really worried about the money or anything like that. We're just worried about playing ball. That's how I've been this whole season, just worried about playing ball and we'll see what happens."

Artest, of course, has been known to change his mind before, but he continues to discuss the current season in the context of what it means for the season to come. And while the $7.4 million he is due next season is considered low for his talents, his reputation and infamy continue to make the question of his real worth difficult to gauge. The motivation for not opting out, Artest insisted, has nothing to do with how he sees this summer's free-agent market and whether he could earn more elsewhere.

"There's a lot of teams that could use me out there that are (under the salary) cap and have got the money," he said. "The issue's not the market, because there's only a few players as good as me that (will be) free agents out there anyway.

"I just like the team (the Kings). I told my agent that. I said there's only a few people I'm wanting to play for. And we're not going to expose those names, or those teams, but I just want to win, and we've got a good thing going."

The Kings being one of those teams, the question then becomes what Artest means to his current organization. If he doesn't opt out, they would avoid losing him for nothing in return this offseason and be able to trade him or sign him next summer. Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said this week that he would consider re-signing Artest if he doesn't opt out, although it's unclear what move the Kings would make if he did opt out.

"If he plays great this year and decides not to opt out and has another terrific year, then sure we're going to look at signing him," Maloof said. "Sure, absolutely. It's up to him, though, really. It's up to him. The ball's in his court. … All the guys like him in the locker room. He brings such an intensity to the game. It's up to him."

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