The saga will soon be over, with Ron Artest's immediate future decided and the Kings back in control again.
Pardon Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie for the audible exhale.
By 9 tonight, Artest either will be in the final season of his contract with the Kings or an intriguing member of the free-agent market. The decision is his until the deadline passes, just as it has been since the season ended.
Though the prospect of Artest opting out remains unlikely, the uncertainty remains until it's official. Artest is in the driver's seat for one more day, and Petrie is stuck without a steering wheel.
Artest remains a most vital piece of the Kings in ways beyond the spot he fills, a major element of the organization's eventual structure. If he remains, he instantly becomes one of the more tradeable players in the league whose value might have risen substantially since the Kings considered moving him in February. On the heels of Boston's title and the reinforcement of the "defense wins championships" credo, Artest remains a specialist on that end and is coming off his first season averaging 20 points. During theNBA Finals, he even appeared at Game 6 in Boston and was trailed by speculation in the following days that the Lakers wish he had been in a Los Angeles jersey.
Beyond the Lakers, there is no shortage of teams with a desperate need to strengthen perimeter defense and add a proven scorer. There's San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and perhaps even Denver. The Nuggets passed up a chance to trade for Artest in February, and their first-round playoff exit against the Lakers showed how he could have helped.
With Artest's expiring contract (for $7.4 million) and his 2007-08 season in which he set career highs in scoring, field-goal percentage and three-point percentage, the risk isn't what it used to be. The Kings are well aware of this, hoping to reap the rewards for their patience.
Opting out makes little financial sense for Artest. The Lakers, for example, might be able to offer a shot at the title, but they would be restricted to a midlevel exception offer (approximately $6 million per season) for a contract - a plight shared by most of the league. Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, said it was "obvious" opting out would result in a midlevel exception deal.
If Artest opts out, the Kings, who hold Artest's Bird rights, could execute a sign-and-trade deal in which he can sign a sixyear deal rather than the maximum five with other teams.
In an e-mail to The Bee last week, Artest sounded as if the allure of joining a title contender was enough to lose money. "I never knew so many teams would be coming after me," he wrote. "All I can say is I made a (big) turnaround."
Yet after the exchange with Artest, Stevens reiterated opting out remains unlikely. He was asked about a recentNewYork Post column that reported Artest would opt out.
"(Teams) are coming after him, but at the end of the day, people make comments all the time, reporters like yourself," Stevens said. "But like I've said, the Maloofs have been good to Ron and to us, and we want to try to do the same to them (by not opting out)."
In a later e-mail, Artest said he agreed with his agent's assessment.
"Yes, (Sacramento) is where I'm staying," he wrote. "But I still think about all my critics. ... (There) will come to a time when I can go where I want, basically. "It's a major turnaround. Everywhere I go, somebody or some fan wants me to play on their team - from San (Antonio) to Boston and even Detroit."
