Ron Artest told ESPN's Marc Stein last week that he was kicking himself for not opting out of the final year of his contract and bypassing his chance to become an unrestricted free agent. On Monday, Artest sent a follow-up to Stein and two Sacramento reporters, saying he still regrets the decision to play out the final season of his contract at $7.4 million in 2008-09 but apologizes to the Kings for suggesting that they misled him. "I made the comment about making a mistake on my opt-out clause because I really did make a mistake," Artest wrote. "I had wrong info about extension options and it could have cost me a new deal. I was informed that the Kings had me in their long-term plans, so that's why I decided to stay in [my] contract. I just wanted to show loyalty. However, when I spoke to the Kings that was not an option and I grew frustrated with my decision immediately. I do apologize for being mistakenly frustrated with the Kings. It was a mistake that I made and I will move on from. I dont know my future but I'm still a King ..."
A lot of Laker fans are envisioning Ron Artest taking Lamar Odom's spot. Kurt from Forum Blue and Gold has several reasons why the Lakers should not do that. Here are three: "1) He is a worse shooter than Odom. Last season, using traditional FG%, Odom shot 52% and Artest 45%. Use eFG% (to account for three point shooting) and Odom is still 5% higher. The reason is Artest takes a lot of jumpers (66% of his shots last year) while Odom gets to the rim (44% of Odom's shots are jumpers). And, on all those jumpers, Artest shoots just 3% higher than Odom. Look again at Artest's hot zones shooting chart - he is not a good midrange guy at all. Bottom line, Artest is like Iverson in that he takes a lot of shots to make his points, he is not an efficient scorer. 2) Artest is not someone who has played well inside an offensive system. There are things he does well, but what are the Lakers going to do when Artest decides he should just take his man (on the post or on the wing) and steps outside the offense? The Lakers offense was impressive last year because everyone played within the system. Do you really think Artest is going to do that for a season and playoffs, when that has not been his MO in the past? 3) Lamar Odom is a much better rebounder than Artest. I don't think anyone would question this - last season Odom grabbed 15.6% of available rebounds when on the floor, Artest was at 8.6%. You can say that a healthy Bynum will soak up some of those, but for a team that wants to get out and run having control of the boards will be key. Odom led some of the best Laker breaks this year by grabbing the board and bringing the ball up himself, and we need more of that not less."
A beat writer trashes blogs. I can barely manage to even shrug anymore, even when it comes from someone I kind of know and whose work I really respect. I woke up today knowing that a lot of media veterans have the blinkers on to this kind of change and I will go to bed the same way. I suspect the best response is long-term; to be an example that defies those sour expectations. I don't think screaming at anyone is going to change much. However, I have noticed that "the Buzz Bissinger episode" was indicative of a trend: The veterans with all the training and credibility act illogically, even hysterically, and based on evidence that largely falls apart upon examination. The most sober and logical responses, supported with actual evidence tend to come from the bloggers.
Brandon Jennings is still waiting for his test scores to see if he'll be able to play for Arizona. If he does not pass the SAT, he has said he might play in Europe, bypassing the NCAA while waiting out the NBA's age limit.
It's never a bad time to review the case of Shawn Marion's tattoo which was supposed to be "The Matrix" in Chinese characters, but instead can be translated as "Demon Bird Mothballs." Basketbawful also directs us to this site explaining that the characters on Marquis Daniels' forearm apparently spell not his initials, but rather "healthy woman roof." Somebody should make a documentary about whoever is making these tattoos. What do they do, go in the back room and just randomly select Chinese characters? Or is this a case of Chinese speakers doing pranks?
James Posey weighs his options. Playing tough D and hitting open threes -- there's a guy like that on every title-winning team I can remember.
Rod Benson on Ball Don't Lie: "I got up for day one of the Toronto free agent camp just in time to catch breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I mention this because when I got down there, the first thing I looked for was Canadian bacon. I felt that if I was in Canada, they should have Canadian bacon and no other breakfast meats. Clearly any other breakfast meat would either be a sign that the hotel caters to the States, or that Canadian bacon is as much a fallacy as French fries and French toast (I've seen a French girl spit out French toast and demand to know what she was eating). As I walked around the breakfast buffet area, I did not see any thinly sliced ham that was labeled "bacon." I figured there would be no reason to label it "Canadian bacon" because I was in Canada. The bacon that was appropriately labeled was the same chewy-crispy sliced pork that I was accustomed to. It could just be that hotel, but I have lost faith in Canadian bacon as a result of that morning."
Ivan Carter of the Washington Post quotes Gilbert Arenas on agreeing to take less than the maximum: "'I looked at like this: There is nothing I can do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million,' said Arenas, who is traveling in Asia and Europe for two weeks as part of a promotional tour for a shoe company. 'I mean, college is expensive but it ain't that dang expensive.'"
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