Delay of game
The latest episode of "As Ron Artest' s World Turns" took another twist Tuesday, with Artest informing the Sacramento Kings that he didn't want to play for them after a deal had been agreed upon with the Indiana Pacers earlier in the day.
For the Pacers, it is the second deal involving Artest that has fallen through. Two weeks ago, they thought they had a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers that would have brought Corey Maggette to Indy, but the Pacers backed out after being scared off by Maggette's injury problems.
This time, it was the Kings who bailed out. Artest had no legal right to deny the trade from occurring, but the Kings wanted no part of him unless he was commited to playing for them.
So what does this mean to each team?
Indiana is starting to run low on options, and the already watered down value of Artest took a further dip. The Pacers originally wanted a good player and a high draft pick, and then were willing to settle for just a good player. Now, with their leverage weaker than ever, Indiana may have to settle for something less than that.
With the Feb. 23 trading deadline looming, the clock is running out on Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird. They don't want to wait until the offseason to trade Artest, but if the right deal doesn't come around, perhaps they will.
In the meantime, teams that thought they were out of the Artest sweepstakes – like the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers – could reenter the picture.
For Sacramento, the non-trade means a very awkward situation regarding Peja Stojakovic.
The former All-Star has been a fixture with the Kings for many years, but he must play for a team that he knows tried to move him. Peja will be a free agent this summer once he opts out of his contract, and it's difficult to imagine him coming back to play for Sacramento again. Because of the emotion involved, I wouldn't be surprised if Geoff Petrie didn't try to trade him before the deadline.
Better to get something for him now than to lose him altogether next summer.
