Troubled Pacer an Artest Worth Taking

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The New York Sun

Knicks team president Isiah Thomas is not known for restraint. During his two-year tenure on Broadway, Thomas has raced to take one big risk after another in completely reconstructing the Knicks’ roster, and rarely to much success. However, he is exhibiting some restraint in the matter of Ron Artest, the controversial and often maligned Pacer forward. Last weekend, Artest demanded a trade and said if he is not dealt to his hometown Knicks (he’s from Queens and went to St. John’s), he would aim to join the team as a free agent when his contract expires in two years.


We all know there are good reasons to be wary of adding Artest. He’s a volatile player who amassed tens of thousands of dollars in fines and weeks of suspensions even before the infamous brawl in Auburn Hills last season that cost him millions in pay and 86 games. But Artest’s strengths are such a good fit for the Knicks’ most pressing weaknesses that Thomas should maintain the restraint only as a bargaining ploy. The Pacers have announced that they will grant Artest his trade, and his baggage notwithstanding, the Knicks need him in the worst way right now.


As the Knicks latest debacle – a 112-92 thrashing at the Garden by the Milwaukee Bucks Monday night – showed, the team is perilously close to freefall. Their early season strength was their perimeter defense. After the third week of the season, they ranked third in the NBA in Defensive Effliciency (points allowed per 100 possessions), but have since tumbled to 11th. They aren’t forcing turnovers as aggressively, and opponents are getting to the rim – and by extension getting to the free throw line – much more often. Artest just so happens to be the league’s premier perimeter stopper and would quickly alleviate some of the Knicks’ burgeoning defensive problems.


While the Knicks are well stocked at guard, have two young centers, and boast the league’s best rookie power forward in Channing Frye, they have very little to speak of at the weakside forward spot. Before this weekend’s pickup of young journeyman Qyntel Woods, the only true 3 on the roster was second year man Trevor Ariza, whose value still lies mostly in his potential – he’s an extremely athletic 20-year-old – rather than in his current production. He’s a good defender, but his offensive game is still searching for the “a,” “m,” and the “e.” Ariza is averaging only 4.8 points per game in 19 minutes of burn. Add to that paltry scoring total a meager 1.3 assists per contest, 42.5% shooting, 33.3% from behind the arc, and 42.5% from the free throw line, and you have a project more than an asset.


Artest, though known for his defensive abilities, can fill it up. He was averaging 24.6 points per game on 49.6% shooting last season before the brawl, and he’s back with of 19.4 points on 46% this season after going almost a year without stepping on an NBA court. He says he can do more offensively if given the opportunity, and the stats back him up.


Would Artest be able to work with Knicks coach Larry Brown? It is a clash of very strong personalities, but some of the early signs are good. After the Milwaukee game, Brown criticized the team for not retaliating to a hard foul on 5-foot-9-inch rookie guard Nate Robinson. Artest has shown no reluctance to hand out hard fouls. Also, Brown seems to be trying to build the team with a “defense first” attitude; it’s hard to imagine him not liking Artest’s skill set in that department.


What would it cost to make the trade? Here’s where it gets complicated. Thomas, a former Pacers head coach, has a sour relationship with both key members of the Pacers braintrust, Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh. This may lead to them to listen more closely to other offers. Golden State is reportedly willing to offer swingman Mike Dunleavy and center Adonal Foyle for Artest and pivotman Jeff Foster. Seattle is said to be considering an offer, and there is the nearly perennial rumor that Sacramento will trade free agent-to-be Peja Stojokavic for Artest.


The Knicks should be willing to part with anyone not named Frye. Undoubtedly the organization would like to jettison an expiring supersized contract like those belonging to Anfernee Hardaway or Antonio Davis to the Pacers for Artest and reserve forward Austin Croshere, and given that the Pacers sport the fourth-highest payroll in the league, they might be attracted to that offer.


But they’ll likely demand young talent too. The Knicks should be willing to part with Ariza – since Artest would be taking his minutes – and rookie David Lee, a fine rebounder whom Brown has relegated to the end of the bench, to sweeten the deal.


Acquiring Artest would be a big risk, and it’s understandable if Knick fans have grown somewhat risk averse two years into the Thomas regime. During that time, the man brought in to save the Knicks has weighed down the roster with the talented but controversial Stephon Marbury, whose $16 million-per-year contract makes him untradable; Jerome James, a mediocre 30-year-old center whose attitude and $5 million-per-year contract no one wants; Eddy Curry, a 22-year-old center with a heart ailment, a reputation for poor conditioning, and bad work habits who is owed $60 million for the next six years; and Jamal Crawford, a guard prone to fits of bad shooting and poor defense who is owed $49 million between now and 2011.In other words, the current roster is built on huge risks, but without additional help, it could all fall apart.


If the Knicks continue along at their 6-15 pace and hit the lottery, the futility on the court won’t even bring a good draft pick. Thanks to the Curry deal, Chicago owns the Knicks’ pick this season and the right to swap first-round draft positions in 2007,too.The team has to do something to shore up its breaches now, and acquiring Artest, risk and all, is the best option.


For once, the team needs Isiah to show his trademark aggression in making a trade. He can save the restraint for next off-season.


mjohnson@nysun.com


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