This is what I was saying yesterday to my friend.I told them if Artest had better hops he would be just like Lebron skill wise.Almost the same body/skills.Now if only he would play like Lebron....
If we got artest I'd like us to bid for Rasheed Wallace MJ Artest TMAC Wallace Yao that is a hell of a team
I would only if A: lebron is our third option B: we only have below average PFs C: we have a great defender battier to gurad players like wade, kobe,..
then why not just trade for a better PF? this is basically wasting Artest's biggest strength, which is lock down defense on the wing, power move against SF/SG...
I think we need a defensive/rebouding PF more than an offensive PF, someone long, athletic, lean.... think Nene.. or even a poor man's Nene will do..
Lebron is 240lbs. Artest is 260lbs. Artest weighs the same as much or more than every PF in the league minus Boozer. Boozer weighs 266lbs. How many times am I gonna have to throw out these facts for people. Can noone read around here? Artest is a big guy that excels at finishing plays near the basket. He can shoot the 3 but that is a luxury. He does not create on the perimeter like Lebron. He will outquick and outwork almost every PF in the league by denying them the ball and stripping them. If they do happen to get the ball they will most likely be further out than they want to be. He can stay in front of them at that point with his combination of speed and strength. He would force every PF in the league to become a jump shooter.
you are still missing my point... Just because Artest can play PF, doesn't mean he will be the best fit at PF. By playing at PF, you are wasting his biggest strength, which is lock down defense at the perimeter. Artest might be just an OK post defender, but he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, if not the best. why would anyone spend millions of dollar to bring him in and then not using his strength?
I don't care about maximizing a single player's strengths. I care about maximizing the team's overall strength. We could have Battier and Artest in the starting lineup at SF and PF or we could put Artest at SF and trade Battier for a PF straight up. Name me one PF that Battier could fetch in a straight up deal that would provide us with a better overall team than with Artest at PF. Getting Artest and putting him at PF is an obvious upgrade for the team that I'm not sure we could match in any other way.
or you could keep Battier, don't trade for Artest, using the same trading chips to trade for a legit PF. force a player to play out of his position and wasting his biggest strength is never a way to maximize your team's overall strength.
Artest implodes during crunch time. He forces bad shots and makes stupid aggressive fouls at those critical moments. That's leaving out his attitude and behavior before playoffs. Artest will never win a championship on a team where he gets substantial minutes.
at 7.5m a year, Artest is not that cheap.... last time I checked, Chris Wilcox is almost 1m cheaper.... remember those missed rebounds in game 7 against Utah? you think Artest will get those for us at the PF position? we need a long/lean/athletic PF, who can rebound/defend, think Nene, think a young R.Horry, think R.Wallace.......
i am still intrigued by VSpan's potential. I don't want to give up on him. They should give away JL3 or Head
