Artest trade shows talent is more important than character

[Glen Infante]

Artest trade shows talent is more important than character​

Just win, baby. That's the statement the Houston Rockets sent Tuesday with the apparent acquisition of Ron Artest. Character? Not important. Potential for trouble? We'll take our chances. The Rockets are a better team with Ron Artest. At least they're better in terms of talent, and that's clearly all that matters as the franchise desperately tries to become relevant in a market dominated by the Texans and Astros wrote Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice. Those teams have been ridiculed for emphasizing character. Fans that think it's only about the bottom line now have a team to root for. I hope the Rockets don't tell us Artest's troubles have been blown out of proportion. I hope they don't think we're that dumb. Domestic violence. Animal neglect. Attacking a fan. An assortment of other tantrums, obscene gestures, etc. Besides, if the Rockets win a championship — and they're good enough if Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming stay healthy and Morey makes a move to upgrade point guard — no one will care how they did it. No one will mention that the franchise suddenly seems diminished.
He's a wonderfully talented basketball player. He's only 29 years old. He did a terrific job with the Kings on the court. But there's a reason this is his fourth team. Not every team has considered Ron Artest worth the trouble. Rick Adelman coached Artest for 40 games, so he certainly signed off on the deal. I want to trust Rick Adelman in personnel matters. I want to trust Daryl Morey, too. This is a tough one to swallow.
It could be another example of Les Alexander pretending to be a general manager. His last good idea was wanting Steve Francis back in uniform. That one should have taught him to stick with stocks and bonds and whatever else he does. He doesn't know basketball. We'll eventually know whether Les forced this deal on his basketball team. It may be two or three years down the line, but someone will let it slip. They always do.
The Rockets had pursued Artest in the past even after he'd gotten into trouble. In an odd twist, once he was accused of animal cruelty, Artest seemed to disappear from the hearts and minds of the Rockets. Come to think of it, if you can forgive Artest for all the other stuff he has done, you should be able to forgive him for neglecting an animal.

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