Just when you thought Ron Artest couldn’t do anything more to lower his trade value, there he goes.

Yesterday afternoon, it appeared the tired saga of ‘Where in the World Will Ron Artest End Up?” had finally, mercifully come to an end. The Kings and Pacers had agreed to a deal that would send Artest out West in return for forward Peja Stojakovic, allowing both teams to move on without players who had requested trades.

Instead, Artest deep-sixed the proceedings when he told the Kings that he really didn’t want to play in Sacramento. The Kings, understandably, pulled out of the deal at that point, since they didn’t want to acquire a player who didn’t want to be there – especially one as flammable as Artest.

But that leaves the Pacers in an even deeper lurch than they already were. Understand, Indiana is paying $80 million in salaries and facing a heavy luxury tax bill this season. Unless you’re Isiah Thomas, the only way to justify that kind of expense is to contend for a title. And in the Pacers’ case, they won’t be anywhere near contention unless they can get something of value in return for their suspended yet undeniably talented forward. Any doubts about that need were emphatically put to bed when the Artest-less Pacers were beaten handily by the lowly Hawks on Monday. Then last night, they managed a putrid 66 points in a lopsided loss to the Cavaliers.

Now the question is, what teams are left for Indiana to cut a deal with? Is there any place left on the map that a) Artest would agree to go, b) Indiana would agree to send him, and c) has an interest in obtaining such a notorious whack job? All this time, the Pacers have been looking to send Artest to the Western Conference, but now one has to wonder if there’s anywhere out west where Artest would agree to go. Teams like Minnesota and Denver, who were heavily involved in the bidding, have to be having second thoughts about whether Artest would be a happy camper.

The one city that would seem to have the biggest lure is L.A., but the Lakers and Clippers already seem to be out of the running. The Lakers weren’t willing to offer Lamar Odom, which was the Pacers’ original demand, and have little else of value to trade (except for that guy who scored 81 points the other night, and I get the impression he’s not available).As for the Clippers, their original offer of Corey Maggette has already been scuppered by Indy’s brass because of an ankle problem that could sideline the high-scoring forward until next season.

So what teams are left? At the time he requested a trade, Artest mentioned two destinations that interested him – Cleveland and New York. (He even said he’d be happy coming off the bench behind LeBron James.) You can forget one of them right away. There’s a better chance of me growing a thick, bushy head of hair than there is of the Pacers sending Artest to Cleveland, where he’d form a lethal pairing with James and give Indy’s division rival a huge boost.

That leaves … New York? Say it ain’t so. Isiah Thomas certainly isn’t about to offer Channing Frye for Artest, which was Indiana’s original hope. But as a result of the Pacers’ latest setback on the court, the Knicks may not be able to obtain him for much less. The key for the Pacers is that they have to come up with something of value for Artest in order to contend. If the Knicks can provide it, they’re in.

And what, pray tell, could they provide? Well, there are a few intriguing possibilities to consider. First and foremost is free-shooting Jamal Crawford. His salary is a match under the cap rules, and he would give the Pacers the one thing they need most right now – a backcourt player who can score. Quentin Richardson is another possibility. His salary also matches Artest, and his outside shooting could help space the floor for Jermaine O’Neal. However, to get Indiana to agree, the Knicks would probably have to throw in a young player – not Frye, certainly, but perhaps David Lee.

Any scenario that involves the Knicks, however, necessarily presumes the Artest-Stojakovic trade won’t go through. The trade is on life support, but – unbelievably – it isn’t completely dead yet. Late last night, Artest made comments to a newspaper that seemed to leave the door open to some kind of arrangement with the Kings. Of course, this being Artest, he may change his mind six more times before this paper lands on your desk. Or, more likely, he may just want to tease the Pacers a bit longer before he jams another knife in their back.

Speaking of knives, we can’t put the Artest topic to bed before we acknowledge the collateral damage. Sacramento will have to put its house back in order after agreeing to trade Stojakovic – they even left him behind at the team hotel when they departed for their game in Philadelphia last night – and then pulling out at the last minute.

Players understandably tend to react badly when they find out they’re being discarded, especially when they’ve said in the previous day’s paper that they wanted to stay with the team for the rest of their career. The first step for the Kings, then, is to make sure Stojakovic is still with the program – especially since the sweet-shooting forward is a free agent after the season.

But as always with Artest, the greatest damage was done to the Pacers. Indiana thought it could finally put the Artest issue to bed and get some much-needed help for the second half of the season. Instead, the Pacers still have the soap opera hanging over their heads, and they’ll probably have to accept even less than the already heavily discounted price in order to unload him.

The shameful part of it is the Pacers unanimously stuck behind Artest all last year while he sat out his suspension for fighting in Detroit – a suspension that ruined their season. They did so out of respect for Artest’s tremendous ability, but what he’s displayed this year isn’t his ability on the basketball court. Instead, he’s shown off his seemingly limitless talent for harming the franchise that showed so much faith in him. The Kings backed away just in the nick of time.

Mr. Hollinger is the author of the 2005-06 Pro Basketball Forecast. He can be reached at jhollinger@nysun.com.