NBA odds: Artest wants out of Sacramento

By Jordan Walters
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

Did you really think that Ron Artest would stay quiet this offseason?

Already the Kings’ talented but tempestuous forward has said he regretted not opting out of the final year of his contract with Sacramento, and now he has said that not only will he be acting as his own agent, but that he hopes to be traded "a team out there that can be more committed than Sacramento to me."

And that team almost assuredly will be the Lakers.

According to reports, the Lakers are interested, having offered Lamar Odom, but the Kings have insisted that L.A. also take back Kenny Thomas and his bad $18 million contract as well, which the Lakers have balked at.

Miami is believed to have interest in Artest and be willing to part with Shawn Marion, whose $17.1 million deal also is expiring. Denver also was reportedly close to acquiring Artest before last season’s trade deadline, although he has said recently he does not want to play in Denver.

Artest has said he didn’t opt out of his $7.4 million contract for this upcoming season because he was under the impression that Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof were going to give him an extension, something that they never said.

So Artest, in an email to ESPN.com, threw his owners under the bus.

"It's weird because [the] Maloofs [were] high on me [after] the initial trade," Artest wrote, referring to the January 2006 deal that brought him from the Indiana Pacers to the Kings. "But during this opt-out time in my career I have not heard from them. That should have been a sign to me that my future in [Sacramento] is N/A or undetermined.

"I was blinded by friendship. Even Mama Maloof [Colleen Maloof, Joe and Gavin's mother] told me she wanted me to stay. I never knew that meant one more year. I thought it meant several. When Mama [Maloof] talks, you listen, and it's a must you consider and take heed to what she is saying.”

 

Artest certainly can play – he averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 57 games last season.

"I hope I can go with a team who can commit to me on whatever the terms may be,” Artest wrote. “Even in Indiana when they were worried about extending me, I still produced for them. I do believe [there is] a team out there that can be more committed than Sacramento to me. Now that I'm my own agent, I can get a better feel on how teams really view me because I can represent myself.”

Now, obviously he is trying to force the issue, but the Maloofs were none too pleased.

“He has to balance the way he acts," Joe Maloof said. "He's got to control his emotions a little better. You've got to try and keep your cool a little bit.

"Take a deep breath and quit flying off the handle with comments that don't make sense. I hate to say it that way, but that's how I feel. It doesn't make sense to me."

Look for Ron-Ron to land in L.A. at some point because it’s what Kobe wants, and Phil Jackson thinks that because he handled Dennis Rodman, he can handle anyone.

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