Bee Sports Editor/Opinion
Who would have thought the best all-around NBA player available in this free agent market is Ron Artest?
The signing period began at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The crop of players available is slim. The quality is low. The cash will be minimal.
Teams are either reeling from the recession or saving money for the coveted free agent class of 2010. That leaves Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Lamar Odom, Hedo Turkoglu and Artest as the best of this year's free agent class.
How do they stack up? Iverson is past his prime. Kidd has some gas left, but not much. And Odom is too inconsistent.
That leaves Artest and Turkoglu, who has become a great shooter but still is not franchise material. Yet, Artest, despite his volatile nature, has grown as a scorer to go with his defense and rebounding.
We'll tag Artest over the other former King as the best player on the free agent board.
What to surf
sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=freeagents-09-10: ESPN tracks two seasons of free agents.
What to do
Baseball, Fresno at River Cats, 7:05 p.m., Raley Field: The Cats are home for a three-game series.
What to watch
Baseball, Giants at Cardinals, 5:15 p.m., CSNBA, ESPN: Matt Cain goes for his 10th win.
Tuesday's results
American League
• Tigers 5, A's 3
• Orioles 11, Red Sox 10
• Yankees 8, Mariners 5
• White Sox 11, Indians 4 (6 innings, rain)
• Rays 4, Blue Jays 1
• Rangers 9, Angels 5
• Twins 2, Royals 1
National League
• GIANTS 6, Cardinals 3
• Pirates 3, Cubs 0
• Diamondbacks 6, Reds 2
• Brewers 6, Mets 3
• Braves 5, Phillies 4 (10)
• Marlins 7, Nationals 5 (7 innings, rain)
• Astros 3, Padres 1
• Rockies 3, Dodgers 0
PCL baseball
• Cats 5, 51s 2
WNBA
• Sky 74, MONARCHS 72
Today's poll
Who is the best NBA free agent available?
• Ron Artest.
• Allen Iverson.
• Jason Kidd.
• Lamar Odom.
• Hedo Turkoglu.
To vote, go to www.sacbee.com/sports.
Tuesday's poll results
Which area pro team has the best tailgating?
• 49ers 45%
• Raiders 42%
• A's 5% • Kings 8%
Total votes: 397.
The last word
What you're saying on sacbee.com comments: "Even the coaching staff is more balanced. They hired Truck (Robinson) as a defensive big guy when they only had 2 offensive big guy coaches in Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) and (Chuck) Person and fired Person." – crackerboxhero on " Kings blog: Burrage returns."
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