Following up the Artest-to-Lakers report
By Sam Amico
Dec. 30, 2005
I’ve received close to 500 e-mails regarding the possible trade of Indiana’s Ron Artest to the Lakers, as reported by ProBasketballNews.com on Thursday (full story).
Here is a brief follow-up:
• The information for Thursday’s story was given to me by an NBA general manager who spoke with Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh earlier this week. That doesn’t exactly narrow down the field of possible sources, considering just about every team has talked to the Pacers about Artest’s availability. But that‘s exactly the type of anonymity my source wants.
• This same source had given me info on two possible trades during the off-season. One eventually happened, the other did not.
• With that in mind, I would say the possibility of Artest actually being traded to the Lakers is 50-50.
• The original story had Artest and Toronto’s Jalen Rose going to the Lakers, Devean George going to Indiana, and Pacers forward Austin Croshere going to Toronto. As my source said, there would also have to be numerous “throw-ins” for the deal to work financially.
• Since yesterday, I’ve learned that either Lamar Odom or Kwame Brown would also be part of the trade -- most likely Brown, as the Lakers reportedly have indicated that they will not move Odom, period. Aaron McKie and Slava Medvedenko are two other Laker names that keep popping up.
• Also, if all of this goes down, don’t be surprised if Lakers big man Brian Cook ends up elsewhere.
• As for Indiana, center Scot Pollard and backup point guard Anthony Johnson have also been mentioned.
• Meanwhile, the details on Toronto’s end are sketchy -- although it’s no secret the Raptors have been trying to unload Rose, whose playing time and production have not warranted his large contract ($15.6 million this season, nearly $17 million next year).
• There have also been reports of Artest going to Denver for Nene and another player, perhaps backup point guard Earl Watson. In fact, some reports say the Nuggets -- and not the Lakers -- are leading the Artest sweepstakes.
• According to a number of e-mails, an Indianapolis reporter appeared as a guest on a sports talk radio show and said he talked to Pacers president Larry Bird, and that Bird indicated Denver has indeed made the best offer for Artest. The reporter also supposedly called our story “poor journalism.”
• Not knowing if that’s true, I will say this: You are only as good as your source, and any trained reporter knows it. As former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee once said, “We print lies all the time.” When asked why, Bradlee responded, “Because we print what people tell us.”
• That’s not to say I would ever post anything I know not to be true. But when a source is someone whom I trust, someone who operates in the league’s inner-circle, and someone who got it right before -- well, I tend to chalk him up as reliable.
• Here is what Larry Bird said about the Artest rumors in Friday’s Indianapolis Star: "Some of it's B.S., some of it's for real. I don't think we ever felt we had to get something done in a week, or two weeks or three weeks. We'll see what happens. It could get done tomorrow, but it could get done two or three weeks from now."
• Bird added, “We are trying to narrow it down to what's best for our team and which way to go. It's not like it's a two-team trade; there's like 14 teams.”
• Finally, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read and e-mail. While I can’t always reply, I read every last one. They are all much-appreciated, so keep ’em coming. In the meantime, stay tuned. Anything else we hear regarding this (or any other) trade will be posted throughout the day.
http://probasketballnews.com/amico_1230.html
By Sam Amico
Dec. 30, 2005
I’ve received close to 500 e-mails regarding the possible trade of Indiana’s Ron Artest to the Lakers, as reported by ProBasketballNews.com on Thursday (full story).
Here is a brief follow-up:
• The information for Thursday’s story was given to me by an NBA general manager who spoke with Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh earlier this week. That doesn’t exactly narrow down the field of possible sources, considering just about every team has talked to the Pacers about Artest’s availability. But that‘s exactly the type of anonymity my source wants.
• This same source had given me info on two possible trades during the off-season. One eventually happened, the other did not.
• With that in mind, I would say the possibility of Artest actually being traded to the Lakers is 50-50.
• The original story had Artest and Toronto’s Jalen Rose going to the Lakers, Devean George going to Indiana, and Pacers forward Austin Croshere going to Toronto. As my source said, there would also have to be numerous “throw-ins” for the deal to work financially.
• Since yesterday, I’ve learned that either Lamar Odom or Kwame Brown would also be part of the trade -- most likely Brown, as the Lakers reportedly have indicated that they will not move Odom, period. Aaron McKie and Slava Medvedenko are two other Laker names that keep popping up.
• Also, if all of this goes down, don’t be surprised if Lakers big man Brian Cook ends up elsewhere.
• As for Indiana, center Scot Pollard and backup point guard Anthony Johnson have also been mentioned.
• Meanwhile, the details on Toronto’s end are sketchy -- although it’s no secret the Raptors have been trying to unload Rose, whose playing time and production have not warranted his large contract ($15.6 million this season, nearly $17 million next year).
• There have also been reports of Artest going to Denver for Nene and another player, perhaps backup point guard Earl Watson. In fact, some reports say the Nuggets -- and not the Lakers -- are leading the Artest sweepstakes.
• According to a number of e-mails, an Indianapolis reporter appeared as a guest on a sports talk radio show and said he talked to Pacers president Larry Bird, and that Bird indicated Denver has indeed made the best offer for Artest. The reporter also supposedly called our story “poor journalism.”
• Not knowing if that’s true, I will say this: You are only as good as your source, and any trained reporter knows it. As former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee once said, “We print lies all the time.” When asked why, Bradlee responded, “Because we print what people tell us.”
• That’s not to say I would ever post anything I know not to be true. But when a source is someone whom I trust, someone who operates in the league’s inner-circle, and someone who got it right before -- well, I tend to chalk him up as reliable.
• Here is what Larry Bird said about the Artest rumors in Friday’s Indianapolis Star: "Some of it's B.S., some of it's for real. I don't think we ever felt we had to get something done in a week, or two weeks or three weeks. We'll see what happens. It could get done tomorrow, but it could get done two or three weeks from now."
• Bird added, “We are trying to narrow it down to what's best for our team and which way to go. It's not like it's a two-team trade; there's like 14 teams.”
• Finally, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read and e-mail. While I can’t always reply, I read every last one. They are all much-appreciated, so keep ’em coming. In the meantime, stay tuned. Anything else we hear regarding this (or any other) trade will be posted throughout the day.
http://probasketballnews.com/amico_1230.html
