Artest for Walker??

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/w ... fri.notes/

With the NBA trade deadline less than a month away, the rumor mill is cranking up again. Ron Artest, Antoine Walker, Latrell Sprewell, Gary Payton, Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall and Eddie Jones are just some of the bigger names being mentioned. Whether any will actually change uniforms is pure speculation, but it makes for fun reading.


Perhaps the most intriguing new report involves Artest, the Pacers' suspended All-Star swingman. According to the Chicago Tribune, there has been talk of a deal in which Indiana would send Artest and Scot Pollard to the Hawks for Walker. Unfortunately, this trade is impossible because the salaries don't match up. It would take Austin Croshere instead of Pollard to make it work, and that's something the Hawks probably wouldn't do.


However, in some ways an Artest-Walker deal would make some sense. The Pacers would get another needed scorer in Walker, and since he is a free agent after the season, Indiana could let him go at that time if it doesn't work out. Meanwhile, the Hawks could get a player in Artest who won't cost them anything this season (since he's not getting paid while on suspension) and seems to fit in well with coach Mike Woodson's long-term vision of a defensive-minded athletic team

do you guys think there is any chance of this happening?

I hope it doesnt, because i dont think Antoine is that good that he is worth getting rid of artest for.

it is only one year, i think the pacers should hold on to him.

i dont care how much trouble Artest is hes a great defender and All-star. Indiana is stupid to trade him away.

That trade would be stupid. Antoine Walker is definitely an All-Star but he's not worth that much, even for Ron Artest.

Good defensive players who can score 20ppg a night are hard to find in this league.

I don't care for the deal either. Long-term, Atlanta can benefit from it but for all his troubles, Ron Artest is too good for the Pacers to give up on now. Artest, if he were playing, would be providing the scoring that Antoine Walker could if the Pacers were to bring him into the fold along with much better defense.

Jermaine O'Neal = PF
Antoine Walker = PF
so (to me at least) this trade doesn't make any sense
especially since Artest>>>>>>>>>>Walker

well, obviously Walker would help out Indy offensively which is what they need, however he'd probably have to play as 6th man or slide JO to C. So not really a good move. As far as Artest goes, moving him is probably a good idea....he's had enough chances in Indy

walker isn't a team player, and would probably be a cancer to the team.

Artest is my second favorite on the team. If he leaves I will write an angry letter to the GM telling him how much we need Artest for brawls in the future.

that would really be a stupid move for the pacers..i like artest as well and if they want to trade him they better bring the same type of guy in return...kirilenko or someone like him..

Artest NEEDS to be traded to the Knicks, maybe Artest+Tinsley for Marbury+Kurt Thomas+Tim Thomas (or something a little different since I don't know $hit about salaries)

i don't think Pacers would want to cancers (Marbury & TT) on their team and another PF.

like everyone said. bad trade for the pacers

artest=good defender, solid offense
walker=fat, trigger happy ball hog

on the bright side, if this is gonna happen indiana will get a former nba live coverboy

Last edited by Null17 on Sun Jan 30, 2005 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

Artest NEEDS to be traded to the Knicks, maybe Artest+Tinsley for Marbury+Kurt Thomas+Tim Thomas (or something a little different since I don't know $hit about salaries)

if i were the pacers i would NEVER do this deal.

i would trade tinsley for marbury straight up, and that would be a fairer trade, not fair, but fairer then this one.

the starting lineup with walker would probably be

pg jamal tinsley
sg reggie miller
sf antoine walker
pf jermaine oneal
c jeff foster

6th man stephen jackson

this lineup certainly looks good on paper, but walker is not a good defender and he would take shots away from oneal because he always needs the ball.

Artest NEEDS to be traded to the Knicks, maybe Artest+Tinsley for Marbury+Kurt Thomas+Tim Thomas (or something a little different since I don't know $hit about salaries)

if i were the pacers i would NEVER do this deal.

i would trade tinsley for marbury straight up, and that would be a fairer trade, not fair, but fairer then this one.

the starting lineup with walker would probably be

pg jamal tinsley
sg reggie miller
sf antoine walker
pf jermaine oneal
c jeff foster

6th man stephen jackson

this lineup certainly looks good on paper, but walker is not a good defender and he would take shots away from oneal because he always needs the ball.

I think they would start Jermain at center and Walker at PF , keep the rest as is...

They're doing this for all the wrong reasons. So they won't win the championship THIS year. You think the Hornets are gonna try and trade their way out of last place? Indiana has a nice core of young players -- O'Neal, Artest, Jackson, Tinsley. What do they need a chucker for? That's all Antoine Walker is.

I think they would start Jermain at center and Walker at PF , keep the rest as is...

no they have never liked starting jermaine at center.[/quote]

if the pacers do try and trade artest get back a PF/C type player and move Jackson to the starting lineup at SF and get the player you got for artest and plug him into the C position. maybe in the offseason pacers could work on getting magloire from the hornets.

I'm not liking this trade...

Some one mentioned this earlier but Artest bring something not too many players do, solid defense and solid offense. He can make a player work hard for his points and yet he still puts up a good number of his own.

Antoine Walker can put up the same number offensively, if not more, but on the other hand the player he is guarding will too. Walker will also take shots away from a team that already has its fair share of scorers.

So I don't know what Indiana plans to do with this but I hope it's nothing more than a rumour.

hopefully this is just a rumor..artest is 1 of if not the best defender in the league. Walker isn't. What Walker provides the pacers already have.

the only reason this trade might happen is because walker can play this year and artest can't and maybe the pacers are really trying to get reggie miller a ring
in any case this is a bad trade for the future. Only OK for the present since Artest can't play this year...

I know that Larry Bird liked Walker (not sure if he still does), but I really don't see Indiana making that trade. They're a smart organization, and giving rid of a high intensity defender and good scorer for a sloppy player like Walker wouldn't be smart.

Artest is better than Walker. They should keep him, although he can't play this season.

artest is one mean boy, but i also think he would work better in indiana than some other team.

I have to agree with you all. I think they should definately keep Artest and don't even think about Walker.

And Artest was averaging a career high in points this year with 24.6 ppg this year.

How many games did he play though? This year's stats are probably not accurate.

Yea he was averaging 24.6, but only for a few games, and considering many players have nice runs in the beginning of the season, it wasn't going to last. Almost all the guys who were scoring a lot have had their scoring drop, except Iverson who had his increase as the season progressed.