Ron Artest might be a Sacramento King

[$do11a biLL$]

 BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - It appears the Indiana Pacers have found a taker for troubled forward Ron Artest.

According to ESPN's Jim Gray, the Pacers and Sacramento Kings have agreed in principle on a trade that will send Artest to the Kings for 6-10 forward Peja Stojakovic.

The trade is reportedly awaiting league approval.
 
The 26-year-old Artest was placed on the inactive list by the Pacers in December and subsequently fined $10,000 by the league for publicly requesting a trade.

Artest averaged 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.63 steals in 16 games this season.

Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star who has the right to opt out of his contract after this season, is averaging 16.5 points and shooting a career-worst 40 percent from the field.

Last season, Artest was suspended 75 games - the longest non-drug ban in NBA history - for his major role in the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004.

After a scuffle on the court with Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace, Artest was hit with a partially full plastic cup thrown from the stands and charged into the seats, attacking a fan he believed threw the cup.

The incident triggered a full-scale riot between players and fans and led to changes in security measures at all NBA arenas. Artest later faced criminal charges but was sentenced to probation and community service.

In the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended for instigating an altercation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley and fined and suspended for smashing a TV camera after a game at New York. He also got into a shoving match with a Pacers official after a postseason loss.

[h cottie is bac-tive?]

I would love to see Artest in a Knick Jersey, but i think he'll go to Sacramento because Peja is a great shooting threat and the Pacers definately don't wanna compete with any team Artest goes to in the Eastern Conference...Artest would be an amazing addition to any team that picks him up, he's an All-Star on both sides of the ball.

check out the date...i love it wen im rite 

[h cottie is bac-tive?]

now it looks like i might be wrong 

well it won't be the first time   

[africas seed]

deal called off cuz artest doesnt want to play for kings

[Mo Z. Dizzle]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AqTqvLC3P6n7kPfNbagJxMM5nYcB?slug=ap-pacers-artest&prov=ap&type=lgns

[h cottie is bac-tive?]

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

deal called off cuz artest doesnt want to play for kings

Wrong...

"It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things."
-Ron Artest

[Perfection]

Pacers want to talk to Artest; Stojakovic 'disrespected'
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider


Ron Artest has been summoned to a Wednesday morning meeting by the Indiana Pacers, who want to hear from the player himself on whether he is standing in the way of a trade to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, ESPN.com learned Tuesday night.

Artest and his agent. Mark Stevens, were expected to meet Wednesday morning in Indianapolis with team executives Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh with the hopes the trade can be revived.

"In the last month, Ron Artest has been vehemently portrayed in an unflattering manner in the media, specifically in the aftermath of requesting a trade, even after it was made clear that he only spoke out because he believed the Pacers were going to trade him to Sacramento, a place he did not want to go to," Stevens said in a statement Tuesday night. "Now it has become evident that this trade was not merely speculation but something that has been at least discussed for quite some time.

"Ron Artest did not want to be traded to Sacramento weeks ago, and he does not want to be traded to Sacramento now. Basketball is Ron Artest's passion. In order for Ron to fully demonstrate his natural skills and abilities, to the best of his abilities, he not only must be in an environment that is conducive to his growth an development as a player, he must also ensure that his family is happy and content as well. Ron does not believe that will be the case if he were in Sacramento. Period. However, as mentioned earlier, Ron is deeply committed to the sport of basketball and desperately misses playing the game he loves. If the trade is made he will play for his new team, regardless of how he may feel about it."

The Pacers and Kings were close to a deal Tuesday, and Stojakovic stayed at the team hotel in Philadelphia when it appeared the trade would be finalized. But a source with inner knowledge of the day's events said a call from Stevens to the Kings gave them second thoughts about pulling the trigger, and the deal was temporarily shelved.

"The way I was treated today, I was disappointed," Stojakovic told ESPN.com in Philadelphia. "I feel kind of disrespected with the way I found out. Thank God they have TVs here. I understand being traded, but this situation is weird. I had already planned my flight back to Sacramento, and now everything is reversed.

"I guess this is just a business, but the way I was told and the way I found out, I feel I deserved better from [Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof]. Anybody can get traded in the NBA, but the way I found out, it was disrespectful. I deserve better after seven and a half years."

Stojakovic rode the team bus on the two-hour trip to New York after arriving by limo at the Wachovia Center during the second half of Sacramento's 109-103 loss to Philadelphia. The Kings play the Knicks on Wednesday night.

Artest told The Indianapolis Star there was a possibility something still could happen.

"There's no deal," Artest told the newspaper by telephone. "It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things." Artest told the Star he is not against a trade but would like to be involved in negotiations.

"I just want to meet with team officials of whichever team I'm headed to," he said in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site. "I want to play, but I'm following the rules I have to follow. If I have to sit out, I sit out the season."

The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was banished from the team in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.

Before the deal apparently broke down, Kings players were already talking about the trade as if it was a done deal.

"Peja will be missed," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's been in Sacramento for a lot of years, but life goes on in the NBA.

"We'll welcome Ron Artest with open arms and hope he'll be able to help us. You always hear about the situations he's been in and all the hype. Maybe this is the change he needs, to come into our system and flourish."

Artest was a key component to a team that was expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He led the league in steals and was the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game before being deactivated after publicly requesting a trade in early December.

Stojakovic has been having an unproductive, injury-hampered season for the last-place Kings, whose loss Tuesday was their third in a row. Stojakovic's scoring average is down almost eight points from his All-Star level of two years ago, and the Kings are at risk of losing him with nothing in return when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Indiana has been holding out for more than six weeks for an offer that it deems acceptable. A proposed swap for Corey Maggette fell through because of the Pacers' concerns over Maggette's foot injury, and talks with several other Western Conference teams failed to produce a deal that pleased all parties.

If the Artest trade ultimately falls apart, the Kings will be facing an uncomfortable dynamic with Stojakovic, who has never been traded in his NBA career. During his 10-minute interview with ESPN.com, he seemed bewildered and embittered by the day's events. The two-hour bus ride to Manhattan promised to be an uncomfortable one for Stojakovic and his Kings teammates, who, two hours earlier, thought they wouldn't see him again until the next time they faced the Pacers.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.