Artest

[dpaulh]

A little premature but what are the chances of us making a run at Artest this offseason?

Honestly, I would rather give him money than Marvin... Just look at when he plays Boston and Cleveland, he shuts down Pierce and he is smothering Lebron tonight. I think his vocal presence, toughness, and never ending hustle on defense brings a lot to the table.

If he can help us beat Cleveland and Boston doesn't it seem like an obvious fit? I bet he will be cheaper than Marvin too

[evildallas]

Almost zero until Marvin, Josh Childress, and the PG situations are addressed. Marvin because he's the current small forward with a massive cap hold. Childress also has a large cap hold, so he would need either renounced or signed (or signed and traded) before we can chase a free agent. I doubt that Childress returns to the team, but renouncing him would solidify losing him for nothing in return. Finally PG is the area of greatest need if Bibby leaves, so any pursuit that would affect either signing Bibby or what financial space is available to fill PG has to considered carefully.

Artest would have a lot to offer if his head is straight, but unless some scoops up Marvin for big bucks early in the process causing Atlanta not to match I doubt Artest will get much consideration here.

[Skyhawk1]

I'd love to see Artest playing for the Hawks. Dude is a bit crazy but can play at a high level on both ends of the floor. He's not afraid of the big challenges and speaks his mind whenever it's needed as he did by criticizing T-Mac publicly. He's the anti-Hawk now though, if you combine our entire team's toughness, it shouldn't be enough to mach Artest's. I'd give up on Marvin if it meant to get him anytime, but like Dallas said, the chances of the Hawks pursuing him are very low if existent.

[td00]

Not sure how much of an impact he has had in Houston, but things appear to be going smoothly in Houston. I would doubt they could afford to lose him at this point with McGrady's health.
Ron is going to want some $$ this time around as he has settled for less than market value long enough.
Now, how does he jell with Bibby, who we know would be the preference if we had to choose who to sign first. I don't think Ron is going to want to wait in line for us to resolve the Bibby issue before coming to him. He is going to be looking to make a big splash with a contender.
He would definitely help us now.....I would have probably done a Marvin/Ron swap if we could have tied Ron to a contract at that time. I know it doesn't normally work that way though.
And that would probably go against what the Hawks do as an organization anyway trying to grow Marvin and then just moving him before he starts to eat into the salary cap.