12/15 Artest/Knicks Rumors: Isiah Won't Deal The Young Guns

Indy Star:njured forward Ron Artest wants to return to the court, but not to the Indiana Pacers.

In a 20-minute interview Saturday, Artest for the first time publicly said he wants to be traded. He calmly described the issues he has with his role on the team, his head coach and his past, and said the team would be better off without him.


"I still think my past haunts me here," Artest said. "I think somewhere else I'm starting fresh. I'm coming in with baggage but people already know about it and how I'm going to be. Either they're going to be for me or they're not going to trade for me. Here I think my past haunts me.

"I think they will be a better team without me."

Coach Rick Carlisle called his forward "one of the elite talents in the league."

"You never want to lose someone like that," Carlisle said Saturday.
The Pacers lost Artest for 73 games after the Nov. 19 brawl last season. They stuck with him even though he said his suspension essentially ruined their season. Now the Pacers might be forced to trade him in order to salvage an already trying season.

"I think I cause a lot of problems here," said Artest, who has missed the past two games with a wrist injury. "If the trade rumors, if there is any truth -- maybe it won't be a bad thing. They probably could win more games without me."

"If I go to the West Coast, I would come back to New York after my contract is up," Artest said. "I would go to Cleveland. I wouldn't mind coming off the bench behind LeBron James. There's a lot of players I wouldn't mind coming off the bench behind. If it was a perfect world, I would be going to New York."

NewYorkBaller7 wrote:If Artest keeps hinting & pushing that he wants to play in NY I'm sure Isiah and Bird will be making discussions between each other to make it happen.

nypost: Knick President Isiah Thomas won't dive head-first into the Ron Artest sweepstakes and make the Pacers an offer just yet.

Thomas is telling confidants he's taking a "wait-and-see" approach to see what other offers are made before calling Pacer prez Donnie Walsh. Perhaps Thomas does not want to be used by the Pacers in driving up Artest's price.

Thomas has interest in the guy he coached two seasons, as the Knicks have no starting small forward or toughness. Thomas knows his best assets are the young pieces and does not want to give them up.

The volatile Artest is 26, but considered a risk by some in the organization, especially playing in his hometown that offers more avenues for trouble. Artest has already smashed one MSG Network camera after a Garden loss three years ago. Artest, suspended for most of last season for his role in the great brawl in Detroit, professes he will sign with the Knicks as a free agent in two seasons, at 28.

Channing Frye, a favorite for Rookie of the Year, is untouchable. But Thomas may shy away from offering youngsters Trevor Ariza, David Lee, Nate Robinson or Jackie Butler. He prefers to offer the expiring contract of Antonio Davis. (Thomas would also have to take back an additional player, such as Austin Croshere to make their salaries match.)

Walsh said he doesn't need a marquee player — but a young guy with potential. Lee and Ariza fit the bill.

Marc Stevens, Artest's agent, sounds like he was trying to scare off other suitors when he told The Post, "He will be a free agent one day. If a team wants to pick him up for two seasons, that's fine. Ron has let it be known . . . he loves New York."

emplay wrote:Don't be surprised to see the New York Knicks pull off a blockbuster to bring Artest to the Big Apple . . .

Rumored Offers (fill in players may be needed in some of the deals to balance contracts)

New York: Stephon Marbury, Trevor Ariza, Antonio Davis and the San Antonio pick for Artest, Jamaal Tinsley and a Pacer big man or two (Austin Croshere, Scot Pollard, Jonathan Bender's contract, etc).

nytimes: Isiah Thomas made a perfunctory inquiry about Ron Artest yesterday, but the Knicks are not aggressively pursuing a trade and, for that matter, will not make any deal that costs them any of their promising young players.

Artest has demanded a trade from the Indiana Pacers, and the team has been fielding offers since the weekend. Thomas said he called the Pacers yesterday, but he did not elaborate. But two Eastern Conference officials briefed on the matter said the Knicks were not in the running for Artest. The officials were granted anonymity because of the nature of the talks.

Although the Knicks admire Artest's talent - he is among the fiercest defenders in the league and a potent scorer - they are wary of his checkered past, what Artest himself has referred to as his baggage. The Knicks also have doubts that the Pacers would send Artest to New York.

The bottom line, however, is that the Knicks will not part with any of their top young players, Channing Frye in particular. Thomas, the team president, extended the untouchable label to his other recent draft picks - Nate Robinson, David Lee and Trevor Ariza.

"I wouldn't part with any of them," Thomas said, using variations of that phrase four times.

"I like where we are," Thomas added. "We haven't had these kind of young players here in a long time. Now that we've got them, we might as well keep them."

The Knicks envision Frye and Eddy Curry, both 22, as their starting big-man tandem for years to come. They view Artest, a 26-year-old Queens native who played at St. John's, as a risk.

"He's a great player, and yes that is a concern," Thomas said of Artest's sometimes erratic behavior. "I think anyone who trades for him or who gets him, they understand exactly what they're getting."

Trade discussions should pick up across the league, now that players who were signed last summer are eligible to be dealt. The Knicks, still in need of a backup point guard and a starting small forward, are certain to be active. They have the expiring contracts of Antonio Davis and Penny Hardaway to offer teams looking to dump salary. They also may try to move their spare big men - Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor and Jerome James - although their contracts make them unattractive.

"We've been on the phones, other teams have called us, we've called them," Thomas said, adding that nothing was imminent. "We'll continue to try to better our team."