This is being reported from multiple sources as a possible trade

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/i...e/index.html?eref=T1

I think they'd have to give up Kleiza among others. All I can say is the Nuggets would be snappin', as well as one of the most entertaining locker rooms and easily combustible teams in the league.

Also the Nuggets D would be shut down, same level as the Celtics and Spurs.

If this trade goes through, wow, the West is the wild wild west indeed. Without a restructuring of the divisions the twolves are never going to make the playoffs ever again.

I agree. The Wolves would be like the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Rays in the MLB AL East. No matter who they get, they're never going to see a place at the table again being in a division with the Yanks and Sox.

Bonk and I have a buddy that lives in Denver and is a big Nuggets fan. For some reason unbeknownst to us, he thinks it would be bad to trade for Artest. I don't see it... I think Artest would be a great addition to the Nuggets.

And yes, we'd never make the playoffs again.

College Wolf wrote:
He LOVES Kleiza. And he thinks they already have enough headcases on the team.

I really haven't seen Kleiza play enough to warrant a strong opinion, but based on what I know it seems like they should go for Artest. They could really use a defensive presence on the perimeter, and AI, although still extremely good, isn't getting any younger. And neither is Camby or K-Mart's knees.

I'd love to see this go down... The Denver Thuggets would certainly be adding to their reputation.

Personally, I love all these big trades. They remind me of our Sam/Spree deals back in the day. They are going to help these teams tremendously now, but they're all mortgaging their futures to do so.

Suns - Nash and Shaq are on their last legs
Mavs - Jason Kidd is nearing the end as well and they lose 2 first rounders
Spurs - Not making moves, but certainly starting to become an \"older\" team with each passing year.


The Lakers deal was pure money from their standpoint, so there's no downside. But this Denver deal is just asking for trouble. There's no way that lockerrom holds it together.

I really think we'll be hitting our stride just as all these teams begin to unravel due to age, lack of picks, etc. When you look at the west, the teams with the good young cores are New Orleans, Portland, Utah, and us. I think its those four teams that are poised to make the leap during the next shift of power. And the Lakers, who shouldn't be going anywhere now for a while.

If the trade went down where would artest fit in the line up

Timberwolves fan wrote:
AI
Carmelo
Artest
Kenyon Martin/Artest
Camby


I think they'd be alright. They could play him at SF or PF depending on the other team's matchup. For example, Artest would easily guard Gomes or Craig Smith when playing the Wolves... so he'd be a PF in that situation. In most situations he could play SF with Melo at SG. I think they'd be ok.

I agree that in trading for these aging superstars they are somewhat \"trading their future\" giving away young players and draft picks etc. But what about the hidden benefits of these kind of trades.

The Western Conference powers that be are going to have free agency on lock down. With a lineup of Melo, AI, Artest, and Camby, how easy would it be for them to convince a PG to come make a title run with them. There should be PG's lined up around the block to sign with them. How many guys are gonna sign with Pheonix or Dallas because they want to play with Shaq or Jkidd.

That's in addition to the fact that free agents would wanna go to those teams plus Lakers and San Antonio anyways. And Jazz, and GS, and Houston, and good Eastern conference teams. Man the twolves are a ways down the totem poll. Our weather doesn't help.

Anyways maybe Artest doesn't want to be traded now??

sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3249812

\"I am anxious to see what my future holds, [but] I like Sac,\" Artest wrote in an e-mail. \"My entire focus is with Sac and winning a championship this year.\"

Ron Ron is even crazier than I thought.

\"As for Bibby's departure, Artest has always tried to convince the skeptics that he and Bibby were closer than outsiders believe. He tried again Saturday to dispel the notion that there was friction between the two, insisting that they often worked out together away from the practice floor and spent time with each other's children.
\"

There is NO WAY Bibby lets Ron Ron anywhere near his children

Wow... Artest is definitely delusional. He'd fit in perfect on the Nuggets!

But yeah, good point about these teams having first dibs on free agents. Who's gonna want to play for the Wolves when they can get the same amount of money that we could offer from teams like LA, GS, Denver, SAS, Dallas, Phoenix, etc etc etc etc x infinity.

In other words, CW, it's going to be a LOOONG Rebuilding process. ugh.

nbafan#8 wrote:

Extremely LOOONG...

CWMy mantra since my first post on this board. Thanks for the recognition !

Anyways, I am willing to accept that - on paper - the Nuggs would be vastly improved by trading for Artest...by now. Especially because Artest is strictly a halfcourt player so - although Denver does play fast at times - he would be a better fit there than in Golden State, where some rumours had him going to as well. I also understand that Artest supossedly is one of the premier defenders in the NBA, able to defend multiple positions - although except for certain occasion, I would not put him against PFs, especially NOT against those Denver would face in the playoffs (Duncan, Boozer, Stoudemire). He might also be a solid third or fourth option on the offensive end (although he tends to overestimate himself pretty much)...

But am I really the only one who thinks that this guy is beyond everything you can jokingly call grumpy, eccentric or mercurial? Call me a hater, an naysayer, an objection raiser or whatever, but to me, this guy has at least a mild form of some real mental desease and I am neither joking nor hating when I say I believe he would need therapy. He does not seem to me \"crazy\" in a way Rodman was, who albeit the weird stuff he was doing, was always in control of himself, knew what he was doing and saying and did it purely because he loved to polarize and annoy the hell out of people. But Artest seem to lack this self control and self awareness.

And someone like that I just would not want on my team. If all the teams recently trading for aging stars closed their championchip windows to two, maybe threee years, trading for Artest means that you need to get it all done THIS year. Because he will be pleased and behave for exactly half a season. Than he will start talking bull about other teams or his role on the team or retiring or making a record or whatever flashes through the random generaor, generously called his \"mind\" and will be forgotten by him 5 minutes after he said it. Even in the - IMO - best case scenario he does not get himself suspended or is abscent from the team or whatever, he brings a state of unrest and uneasiness to every team that will prevent it from maximizing its talent over a certain period, say: a playoff series.

And no matte how often I have said that stars attract stars. I just can't imagine that NBA players would kill each other over the chance to play on a team that has Ron-Ron on its roster.

In the end I do know nothing of course. Maybe Artest is just a normal guy with his mind wandering astray a little bit more often than yours or mine. Or maybe he just is the good player he is just because of his...rather strange personality (I remember Mahmoud Abdul Rauf in an interview saying that his Tourette syndrome gave him the creativity and the reflexes he needed to be an NBA PG).

But if I were a GM, I wouldn't trade for Artest if he had an expiring contract.

College Wolf wrote:
There's no way Melo will or can play shooting guard.

College Wolf wrote:
No one is going to come play with the Wolves...They never did when we had a good team...who would come a freeze their butts off and lose at the same time...

BonK wrote:

Ok, start Artest at PF then. He's 6'8\" and 250 solid pounds. If they got Artest it would be to their advantage to start him with AI, Camby, and Melo... That lineup would be solid.