Contemplating Ron-Ron

Sources: Mavs Have In-House Artest Talks

Mike Fisher and David Lord -- DB.com

   The proactive scoop from inside Mavs HQ regarding Ron Artest: DallasBasketball.com is being told that the Mavs have engaged in extensive in-house discussions concerning the viability of acquiring the bizarro All-Star. The reactive part of our scoop: Dallas is convinced that the Kings don’t believe they are over a barrel and are therefore months away from truly considering anything the Mavs can offer.

   DB.com digs deep into that viability. … the possibilities and the roadblocks, the risks and the rewards:

DO YOU WANT TO DO AN EXTENSION (AND DEAL WITH ITS COMPLICATIONS)?

   Artest is making $7.4 million in the final year of his contract. The two beyond-debate upsides there are obvious:

   One, he would, as much as any NBA’er, play out of his mind while chasing a rich new deal. “Wherever I’m at next year,’’ he says, “I can’t wait to work.’’

   Two, if he somehow did not fit with his new team, his expiring contract would make him a highly valuable piece. (Of course, the same factors would be useful to his present employers in Sacto, too; that as pivotal to this story as other teams’ desires. More on that later.)

   Now some contractual nuts-and-bolts:

   FACT: Artest is eligible for an extension of his existing contract, at any time.
   FACT: The first year of the extension would have to be a raise of no more than 10.5 percent above the salary in the last season of his current contract, and could be for no more than five added years. That would put the upper limit on such an extension at a starting salary of $8.177 mil, the five-year total on a max extension would be $49.47 mil, and the Mavs (or whomever) would be committed to a total of six years and $56.87 mil counting the existing year.
   TRICKY FACT: The NBA rules allow Sacramento and Dallas to do an "extend-and-trade," which is a little-known tool but is similar to a sign-and-trade. In such a move, the extension would be one that had been worked out with the Mavs, and would only go into effect if a trade to that team occurs. But an extend-and-trade is doubly complex, because the Mavs would not only be negotiating the trade terms with the Kings, but also an extension with Artest through Sacramento and not directly. We don't recall ever seeing one happen before.

   DOUBLE-TRICKY FACT: One of our sources is certain that Artest would demand an extension be part of his relocation. “That makes (a decision) complicated,’’ the source said, “because you would be starting to do things you don’t want to do.’’

In other words: Renting Artest for one “show-me’’ season might be what the Mavs have in mind. But it probably isn’t what Ron-Ron has in mind. Thus, Dallas ’ first major obstacle: Getting him to behave, focus and perform for six years.
SOME OF WHAT SACTO IS LOOKING FOR IN ITS SALE
   ITEM: Presumably there is some competition for his services. Gossip has the Kings asking the Lakers to swap Lamar Odom for Artest. Sacto is demonstrating patience here; LA is simply the first bidder on a product that eventually must be sold, and the Maloofs suggest that there are as many as six teams that are already sending out feelers. (Editors’ note: Conspiracy theorists might suggest that our sources and this article represent Dallas’ feeler-sending. So be it.)
   ITEM: There's no "value gained" in sending Sacramento expiring contracts for Artest in a one-player acquisition, because Artest is an expiring contract himself. The Kings' default position is to keep him for this season, then let his contract expire or accept a sign-and-trade of some talent for him next summer.
   ‘THEREFORE. …’ ITEM: The Mavs have two ways to offer added value to Sacramento that might entice the Kings to do such a deal. One would be to offer somewhat equal talent, and the other would be to take the bad contract of either Kenny Thomas or Sharif Abdur-Rahim alongside Artest. Thomas is owed about $17 mil over two remaining years, and Sharif about $13 mil. Both had virtually zero on-court value last year.
  BAD-CONTRACT ITEM: The Kings’ asking price for Artest reportedly has been to try to get some team to take one of those bad contracts. Obviously, no other team has been willing to do so – yet.
REGARDING THE PARTICULARS OF A DEAL
   There are numerous ways to mix-and-match the parts on both sides. Here are some general concepts (created by DB.com, not from conversations with NBA voices) that the Mavs might be considering:
   IDEA 1. To match Artest alone, we see three options. ...
   a. STACKHOUSE. Stackhouse-for-Artest is almost an exact match salary-wise, and both are expiring contracts. We don’t see much upside for Sacto here.
   b. JONES, GEORGE AND MAGLOIRE … PLUS. Artest can also be salary-matched for trade purposes with expiring contracts by combining Eddie Jones ($1.977 mil) plus sign-and-trades with 20-percent-or-less raises for Devean George ($2.843 mil or less) and Jamaal Magloire ($1.241 mil or less). Add Bass on his minimum-salary deal and the total is very close to Artest's. In this proposal, the Kings are at least adding a commodity in a young rotation player.  
  c. JET OR J-HO. Jason Terry's contract would be allowable as a one-for-one but Josh Howard's wouldn't.
   (By the way: Bass is a minimum salary so can be dropped into any deal without a match being needed.)
   IDEA 2. To match Artest-plus-Thomas or Artest-plus-Sharif. …
   a. The Mavs could package together two of the above sets (1a, 1b or 1c) to make a salary match, if they could agree with Sacramento on the right amount of talent (or contract-eating) to offer.
   b. While Sacramento obviously wants all they can get for Artest, eating one of those nasty contracts has reportedly been the Kings' asking price. In also adding talent (Jet, J-Ho, or Bass) the Mavs may feel they are overpaying.  
   c. Talent-wise, the Mavs most advantageous "eat-a-contract" offer in our opinion would be a package of Stackhouse, Jones, George, and Magloire for Artest-plus-a-contract. We’d offer that last idea, and the issue left to negotiate with the Kings would be which of those two nasty contracts (Thomas' bigger one or Sharif's smaller one) Dallas will be swallowing.

   If the Kings want talent, too, inquiries need to be made about having the Kings include Francisco Garcia (who has talent but is buried on the depth chart behind Kings' star Kevin Martin and who is currently seeking a high-dollar extension from his rookie contract). Including him could save the Kings from being forced into a sizable raise for a backup, and might also finally solve the Mavs' annual quest for a taller 2-guard. (He wouldn't be a workable candidate for an extend-and-trade, too, because of "poison pill" provisions in the CBA that his expected extension would trigger, so the Mavs would have to work any extension with him AFTER a trade and not beforehand.)

SO THERE’S HOW TO DO IT. NOW, DO THEY WANT TO DO IT?

   ITEM: Despite speculation, we get no legitimate indication that the Mavs are willing to swap out Josh Howard for Ron Artest. We’ll call this “the devil that you know vs. the devil that you don’t.’’ Until further notice, kill that one while pondering a simple question: Isn’t Artest a clearly superior overall talent to Josh? Aren’t the only people who would answer “no’’ to that question the same people who recite by rote the words, “We love our team’’?

   ITEM: The oft-regurgitated tale of new coach Rick Carlisle saying he’d look forward to a reunion with his former Pacers charge has been grossly overplayed. Carlisle’s answer upon his welcome to Dallas was not a deep-felt revelation or a first step on a recruiting tale; it was simply the result of Carlisle being polite to a questioner. (As proof: On the next day, he was asked if he’d ever want to reunite with other troublemaking underlings like Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley. And with the exact same chipper enthusiasm, he said nothing but nice things about them, too.)

   ITEM: If Artest himself has a wish list, Dallas is likely on it: He recently name-checked Carlisle, saying that his old coach got “the best out of him’’ in the same way LA’s Phil Jackson might. The “best’’ of the 6-7, 244-pound Ron Artest? Maybe 20 points, six rebounds and three assists per game, plus shut-down defense on the game’s best wingmen, plus the athleticism to serve as Kidd’s sidekick, plus a take-no-prisoners attitude that would make him Dirk’s bodyguard.

   ITEM: So what happened to our “No, no, no, no. … He’s poison in the locker room’’ angle? That quote from a respected source still lingers, and there are certainly those within the Mavs family who still feel that way. And again, here’s that in-house debate, boiled down: Would the positive personalities of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and the (surprisingly ebullient) Carlisle guide Artest up the behavioral hill? Or would Ron-Ron drag this locker room and this team downward?

   Much of what Artest has done in his NBA career is truly scary. Legally, ethically, psychologically scary. And even the innocuous stuff (he’s now thinking of calling himself “Bill’’; he continues to engage in a “Sybil’’-like debate with himself over not opting out of his Sacto deal; he’s decided to act as his own agent) represent huge red flags.

   However. …

   FINAL ITEM: Where are the 2008-09 Dallas Mavericks going without Ron Artest? The foundation of Dirk, the promise of Kidd and Howard playing at a higher level, and hoped-for re-invigoration from a new coach ought to keep Dallas in the playoff mix. (Seriously, screw the “tough West.’’ If you employ KIDDIRK and do not qualify for the postseason, you are doing something terribly wrong.) But shouldn’t a “good team’’ that is not a “young team’’ go for broke? The Kidd trade was one swing-from-the-heels move; why not another one? If Ron Artest – who, by the way, is just 28 -- makes a team better on paper, then shouldn’t a strong organization be able to translate the improvement from paper to hardwood?

   Oh, and there is this: Donnie and Cuban acknowledged that last year’s club was “stale’’ and in need of an excitement injection. Cuban said he noticed that attitude influencing media and fans. Has that changed? In DFW – Sports Reclamation City – wouldn’t you buy a ticket to see the Mavs’ version of T.O. or Pacman, the Mavs’ version of Josh Hamilton or Milton Bradley?

   One source with in-depth knowledge of Cuban’s general thinking on such matters says that “if anybody would take a chance on something like this, it’s Mark. He’s always open-minded about stuff like this.’’

   Ultimately, what might stand in the way of Artest-to-Dallas is a Kings franchise that must milk him for all he is worth. … and he might be worth more milk just before the February trade deadline (while he’s playing well, sitting on an expiring, and over-coveted by contenders) than he is worth today.

   It’s ironic: The Mavs don’t need to make a deal for Artest, yet they are closer than ever to considering one. But the Kings, who do need to make a deal, might be the team in no real hurry.

1212am july 15 2008