HOUSTON – Sympathy?

You think Ron Artest would have sympathy for the Kings, with the way the losses have piled up without him this season and how yet another coach was fired long after he was free to flourish in far better surroundings? Artest is a lot of things, but empathetic to a losing team isn't one of them.

"When I was a rookie (in Chicago), we only won 13 games," he said after practice Thursday when asked if he felt for his old teammates. "I've been there. That's how it's supposed to feel. It's supposed to push you to get better, and they should still feel like they should make the playoffs. … I always believed we could have won a championship with that (2007-08 Kings) team, and nobody believed me."

Just because the jersey changed doesn't mean Artest has. He still makes the most outlandish declarations, stubbornly sticking to the championship-or-bust mentality that so often drew hidden laughter during his time in Sacramento. But the change is in his surroundings, in the fact that Artest can talk that way now and nobody in Houston chuckles. They appreciate the approach and hope he can prove he's right.

Nearly a third of the way into the season, title talk remains relevant for a team that is 16-9 despite its usual rash of injuries. Shane Battier has missed 16 games, Tracy McGrady seven and Artest three, and still there's a happy story to tell. Case in point: When Artest came off the bench for the first time in Tuesday's game against Denver, the Rockets not only won but did so with Artest more than willing to play with the second unit while Battier started.

"I've never come off the bench, but I'm ready (to do it again)," said Artest, who had 20 points in 29 minutes against the Nuggets. "We don't have time to worry about how comfortable I feel, what's going to satisfy me. That's not going to help us get through the season. Whatever coach (Rick Adelman) has planned, that's what everybody has to adjust to."

That part hasn't changed, either. Artest loves Adelman now as he did then, from the time the coach was sent packing from Sacramento in the summer of 2006 to the time Artest criticized the Kings for doing so just after he was traded to Houston in mid-August.

But after Adelman had utilized Artest during the Kings' 2005-06 playoff push that ended with a first-round loss to San Antonio, their reunion in the summer raised the question of whether the coach known for reaching players of all kinds could do it again with this particular player.

No one is calling it an aberration anymore.

"He's been really positive," Adelman said. "As far as fitting in, he's been terrific so far. … He's always going to have his little quirks, but a lot of players do.

"I think the biggest thing with any player, if you can reach him – and I think you can reach Ron – is that something can happen, and if I sit down and talk to him, he's very positive, and he'll be the first to say, 'OK, I can see what you mean.' He just has a way of doing things. He's not someone you just undress in front of everybody or attack. You just talk to him. That's the way a lot of players have been that I've had. I think if you just try to be honest with him and he trusts you, then he's fine.

"We haven't had any problems with him."

That's the difference. Artest's fiery nature meant he was forever frustrated with the Kings. He was an All-Star-caliber player surrounded mostly by inexperienced players and coaches after Adelman left, with the organization looking to rebuild while Artest wanted to reload. And just three days after the Kings fired coach Reggie Theus, Artest acknowledged that the previous pairing was rocky.

Artest said he wanted Theus to believe in him. "He started believing late," Artest said, "started to believe in me being a leader. People thought I was selfish, but I come (to Houston) and they like when I lead. I wasn't being selfish. I just believed.

"I remember when (Theus) first got (to Sacramento), he didn't think I could shoot the ball. I think it was going to take awhile for me and Reggie to get adjusted to each other, as with anybody. … But it just didn't happen fast enough. It was bad timing for me and Reggie to meet because I was in a situation where I wanted to know if I was going to be a King. If it was any better timing, we would've had a successful couple years together."

Without regret or remorse, Artest looks to make it happen in Houston.

"I think he's now in an environment and an organization that wants to win," Battier said. "Not that Sacramento didn't want to win, but they just didn't have it. I can't speak for him, but he's found a positive environment and knows that his fire is appreciated. That's what we needed. We needed someone like that to come in and shake it up a little bit and make us a better team."

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.