Artest On The Move

It was on. Then off. Now it appears to be on again. If it goes off one more time, the Artest-Peja trade will put the Theo Epstein saga to shame.

A day after Ron Artest apparently refused to go to Sacramento, causing a trade to be held up, he appears to have now agreed to a trade and will likely become a Sacramento King. League approval appears to be the final hurdle, but should be taken care of in time for Artest to suit up Friday night against the Celtics.

I think this is a great trade for the Kings, assuming that he doesn't instigate another brawl. He's one of the best defenders in the league, has underrated offensive game, and will be playing with a chip on his shoulder. I'm looking forward to seeing him put up sick numbers for my fantasy team.

As for the Pacers, I think Peja's overrated. He's a good shooter, but has a tendency to hog the ball, and doesn't do anything else exceptionally well. He's akin to Michael Redd, which could be a good addition to this club, so long as someone steps up and provides defense. The risk is that he's an unrestricted free agent at season's end, so he could walk and leave Indiana with nothing to show for Mr. Artest.

I give a conditional thumbs up to the Kings, and a thumbs in the middle to the Pacers. Both teams are struggling and need a jumpstart, so for both their sakes I hope this trade does it.