Sacramento Kings Trade Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets

It finally happened. The man who is blamed for the Brawl at the Palace (the real one), is now headed to a Western Conference contender.

Ron Artest, formerly of the Sacramento Kings, has been traded to the Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, rookie Donte Greene, the Rockets 2009 first round pick and cash incentives.

This now puts the NBA’s most physical perimeter defender, and one of the league’s best two-way players, alongside Tracy McGrady and what appears to be a healthy Yao Ming, who by the way, scored 21 points in a warm-up contest just yesterday.

Ron Artest may be a crazy dude, but he is a baller. Moreover, putting him beside two talents like that, not to mention a tremendous supporting cast that helped the team win 22 games in a row, and you now have a team that is perhaps the best in the West.

Yes, this makes the Rockets that good. You have to remember, the Rockets were already the first or second best defense in the Western Conference. You add a basketball player like Ron Artest who can guard the other team’s best perimeter player, and you may be flirting with defensive supremacy that reaches the heights of the San Antonio Spurs in their prime, and the Boston Celtics of last season.

I must say, I am glad to see Artest on a contender again. Playing for a non-playoff team in the NBA and being a superstar is like not being in the NFL at all. The fact that Ron Artest was essentially a non-factor for three-seasons is almost too hard to believe, but the wait is over. NBA fans, whether they like it or not, will see Artest playing some of the league’s best defense and displaying one of the NBA’s best all-around offensive games.

So does this make the Rockets better than a Lakers team that may have a healthy Andrew Bynum?

You know what, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Rockets are now a better team than the Lakers. Obviously, Tracy McGrady has comparable offensive talents to that of Kobe Bryant. Yao Ming is better than both Pao Gasol and Bynum. And no offense to Lamar Odom, but he is not in the same class as Ron Artest as a basketball player.

They are a risky pick though, because we never know how a season with Ron Artest will pan out. Then again, maybe we do know how they pan out. They often end in winning seasons when he’s on board for the full ride. I’m going to go ahead and go out another limb and say that he’s on this bandwagon…at least until he proves otherwise.

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