Would there be any reason NOT to extend Artest's contract?

[moofs]

Yeah, the year before Michael Redd was.

[CableKC]

Assuming that he will be on his best behavior and is able to help you guys get to the 2nd round....do the Rockets even have the Salarycap space to resign him to a 10mil contract?

I don't know if the Rockets received any special rights to Artest from the Kings....Bird's right or whatever....but Artest is a UFA....you guys better be prepared to pay him what he think's he's worth.

[Optimism Prime]

Assuming that he will be on his best behavior and is able to help you guys get to the 2nd round....do the Rockets even have the Salarycap space to resign him to a 10mil contract?

I don't know if the Rockets received any special rights to Artest from the Kings....Bird's right or whatever....but Artest is a UFA....you guys better be prepared to pay him what he think's he's worth.

No team can do that--we have a salary cap, remember?

[CableKC]

If Artest goes bat **** crazy on us, we'll trade him to the Magic for Turkuglu. If he behaves, i would give him 10 million a year for the next 4 years.

Its on Artest.

But if he goes bat**** on you, what makes you think Orlando would want to give up a borderline All-Star for him?

He went bat**** crazy on Indiana and Sacramento still traded the then one time MVP candidate Peja for him. When you have as much talent as someone like Artest, teams will always be willing to take a chance on him.

The Rockets don't even have to worry about whether they have to think about moving him for anything......Artest is a UFA.....if he goes Artest on you guys again...then you simply let him walk at the end of the season.

[Guy986]

Wait. Peja was an MVP candidate?

The year when Chris Webber went down, he was an MVP candidate. If my memory serves me right, He averaged something ridiculous like 24/5/2 on 47% shooting or something. The kings were expected to suk that year but they didn't miss a beat despite the Webber injury. Peja was the main reason for that.

Somebody else remember that right? Or am i just crazy?

[Guy986]

Found it.
I knew i wasn't crazy.

03-04 SAC FG% 0.480 3P% 0.433 FT%0.927 RPG6.3 APG2.1 PPG 24.2

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/predrag_s ... stats.html

[Julio]

Found it.
I knew i wasn't crazy.

03-04 SAC FG% 0.480 3P% 0.433 FT%0.927 RPG6.3 APG2.1 PPG 24.2

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/predrag_s ... stats.html

I think he was in the top 5 for MVP voting.

Extend Ron's contract?
I don't know, really.I'm with Moofs, Jove and OP.
I was against getting Artest if we had to give up..well, something like Luis ou Battier.Thankfully, we did not, b/c morey is a great gm, but i'm still wary of Artest.
It seems like the best situation in the world for him, but still, we can't be sure, it's Artest.
Problem is, if we do win a title this year, not sure about how much Artest will want, but surely too much for us.
And yeah, I agree, let's say we don't go in the WCF, blow this team up.

[TMU]

Wait. Peja was an MVP candidate?

The year when Chris Webber went down, he was an MVP candidate. If my memory serves me right, He averaged something ridiculous like 24/5/2 on 47% shooting or something. The kings were expected to suk that year but they didn't miss a beat despite the Webber injury. Peja was the main reason for that.

Somebody else remember that right? Or am i just crazy?

You're absolutely correct. Moreover, Peja was a heavy favorite to win the MVP prior to the all-star game. I believe he finished 2nd in PPG as well.

[TMU]

I don't think Morey should extend his contract any time soon. Artest must demonstrate some maturity both on and off the court. This discussion should be brought back much later in the season.

[CableKC]

No team can do that--we have a salary cap, remember?

Yeah...no kidding...no team has enough $$ to sign Artest for how much HE THNKS he is worth.

The question has been asked whether the Rockets should extend him or not....with the obvious answer that it depends on whether he behaves this season and can show some maturity to fit into what the Rockets are trying to do for the next 2-3 seasons.

But let's fast forward to the 2009 offseason and say ( for the sake of argument ) that Artest does behave, does the Rocket's have the Financial flexiblility to resign him next season?

My guess is that the decision to resign him as an UFA will be decided sometime before the 2008 Trade Deadline. By then....the Rockets should have a good idea about whether they want to keep him or not based off of his behavior and performance.

From what I can tell from DraftExpress at http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-player-salaries/team/Rockets/, looking at the Rockets 2009-2010 payroll....they have 8 players with guaranteed $$$ owed ( assuming that you guys pick up Aaron Brooks Team option ). If the Rockets want to keep Artest...I am guessing that there will be some hard decisions that will need to be made before the 2008 trade deadline to help clear 2009 Salary so that they can make a concerted effort to keep him.

[aznkillabeezZz]

I don't know if we can afford to extend his salary. He's going to ask for at least 10 million a year.

[Meatcookie]

2005-06 season: 56 games, 2 techs, 0 ejection, 1 flagrant
2006-07 season: 70 games, 1 tech, 0 ejection, 0 flgrant
2007-08 season: 57 games, 8 techs, 1 ejection, 0 flagrant

He seems to have improved after the malice at the palace. He lost 5-7 million from his being unstable and not thinking clearly or at all.

I am not worried about brawling, record contracts, chemistry etc. After a player gets traded so many times they really start to wise up. I think he has.

[jove9]

Now if only he can stay healthy...