Artest to Houston; Kings Officially Rebuilding

With the trade of Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets for a #1 pick, Bobby Jackson, and a player to be named, reportedly Donte Greene, the Kings are officially a franchise in transition.  The Kings opening day starters, potnetially looks like this: PG – Beno Udrih, SG – Kevin Martin, SF – Donte Greene or Francisco Garcia, PF – Mikki Moore, C – Brad Miller.  Not the most imposing five in the NBA by any stretch.

But the Kings had to do something with Artest as he has spent the month of July bemoaning the fact that he decided not to opt out of his contract.  The Kings get some cap space for next year when Jackson’s contract expires and what amounts to two #1 picks in Greene, the 28th pick in June’s draft, and a #1 next summer.  I don’t think anyone truly believed the Kings were interested in dealing Artest to a division rival in the Lakers so this was probably the next best option for them.

This is a move the Rockets had to make in order to contend in the west.  They needed that third star player to contend with teams like the Spurs, Lakers, Jazz, and Hornets who all have better depth than the Rockets do.  Artest will gives them that third scorer, lockdown defense, and an extra edge out there.  Artest is definitely an offensive upgrade at the small forward position over Shane Battier and he is arguably as good of a defender.

In other news ESPN is reporting that the Bulls and Luol Deng are close to sealing the deal on a six year contract reportedly worth in the neighborhood of $70 million.  If this deal comes to fruition it likely means Ben Gordon is as good as gone and will be dealt via the sign-and-trade option.

Carl Landry Following Childress to Europe?

On the heels of Josh Childress’ announcement that he will play in Greece next season Carl Landry’s agent is telling folks that Europe might be an option for his client next season as well.  As was the case for Childress Landry is a restricted free agent as well.  Whether or not this is just a case of an agent doing what he does best by posturing in the local media to gain leverage remains to be seen. 

Based on the comments made by Houston General Manager Daryl Morey it sounds like the Rockets are calling his bluff.

“Carl and his agent are doing what they think is best for him and if that includes exploring Europe that is their right to do that,” said Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets General Manager.

“We continue to want Carl as a Rocket. We have a difference of opinion on the next steps to get him re-signed, but we have not changed our desire to see him return.”

That to me sounds like someone who does not want to give Carl Landry the kind of money his agent is looking for.  Surely they would love to have Landry back as he surprised a lot of folks with his play off the bench for the Rockets down the stretch.  He averaged 8 points and just under 5 rebounds in roughly 17 minutes per game off the bench for Housont and gave them an edge and some toughness when he was on the floor. 

But, now, two questions remain.  One is whether Landry truly has an interest in going overseas and two is how much are European teams willing to offer?  It is unlikely he will get an offer akin to what Childress recieved.  Childress is a much more established talent in the league and a more versatile player who defends well.  It remains to be seen what kind of benchmarks Landry sets for himself in the coming years.  Keep in mind that Ike Diogu and Craig Smith posted similar numbers to Landry’s during their rookie campaigns and they are still stuck on the bench posting similar numbers.  Childress was an occasional starter seeing 30 plus minutes off action while Landry has yet to show he can win a starting job in the league.

Stay tuned as we could see more restricted free agents making noise about playing in Europe next year.

NBA Draft: Is Rose the One?

Since the NCAA basketball tournament ended there has been a lot of talk about Derrick Rose being the top prospect in the draft.  But, is he the right guy to take if you think there is a dominant/elite big man in this year’s talent pool?

There is a reason why Greg Oden was drafted ahead of Kevin Durant as the top pick last year. You stand a better chance of winning with a dynamic/dominating big man than you do with a dynamic/dominating perimeter player. Just look at recent history. Who has won the lion’s share of the NBA Championships since Jordan hung them up? Of the last 9 NBA Champions 8 of them featured either Tim Duncan or Shaq in a prominent role. The last 3 Spurs Championship teams featured Tony Parker at the point who is a very good but not an elite player at PG and Avery Johnson captained the first championship run and he was just a facilitator for guys like Duncan and Robinson to do their thing.

Shaq’s teams have never featured an elite PG either. He has by-and-large won with teams featuring a dominant combo guard like Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant.

As one goes back over the history of the league really only Isiah and Jordan are the only two players to win multiple championships without the services of an All Star caliber low post player and of the two Isiah is the only PG and those Bulls teams merely had someone who could hit open jumpers at the point and help bring the ball up the floor.