The linked article:
According to several league sources, the Cavs have been been in contact with Houston Rockets free agent forward Ron Artest. It even included a face-to-face pitch from LeBron James on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, as both were in Southern California for various events.
Honestly…. I think I’m OK with this.
First off, this is obviously a high-risk, high-reward situation. However, with Carlos Boozer screwing over the Cavs again (the Pistons would’ve thrown their money at Boozer, rather than Charlie Villanueva), I’m not sure what other move comes within sniffing distance of Artest’s potential high-reward.
Plus, if they sign Ron-Ron, they’ll probably just pick up Varejao. So that would be the Cavalier front line: LeBron James, Ron Artest, Shaquille O’Neal as the starters with Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgausksas coming off the bench (or maybe you start Andy and bring Artest off the bench as the other scorer in the 2nd unit with Mo). Who knows. I just think a crunch time defensive lineup of James, Artest and Shaq would be very very difficult to score on.
Of course, he could also have a meltdown and derail the entire season. He’s known for being a black hole on offense and he often takes questionable shots. Plus, he’s not the same player defensively as he once was (can’t stay with the quicker guards, though he’s still a beast on the block) and he’s a certifiable crazy person. I love Mike Brown and all, but do you think he’ll be able to incorporate both Shaq and Ron freaking Artest into this locker room (let alone the offensive end of the court)?
But hell, I say go for it. I’m pretty sure Ron-Ron can guard the Rashard Lewises of the world.
Ben Blog 