Le Basketbawl

During my days as a radio reporter in Cleveland, where I covered the Cavaliers, Browns, and Indians, I was friendly with another veteran reporter. Without giving out names, which are really irrelevant to the story, this reporter went on a Cleveland radio station, and told a tale that was totally made up. The reporter said that a certain member of the Cleveland Indians made a statement while being interviewed. I was sitting next to this reporter when he phoned in his report, to a Cleveland Sports Talk show, and heard him relay the made up conversation. How do I know it was made up? Very simply the other reporter was never in the Indians locker room without me being there. He never had a conversation, with this player, on or off the record without me being involved. Although I totally disapproved of what he was doing, it really was none of my concern. The reporter did not work, for me, or for my employer, and I would never “narc” on one of my peers.

As the Indians season carried on this reporter would keep repeating this false anecdote. Eventually the host of the show would tell the tale on the air, he thought it was true, so he wasn’t doing anything wrong. The false story almost took on a life of it’s own, as callers to the station started to reference it as well. One day about half way through the campaign I was sitting in the Indians Press Box, gathering my equipment to go out to do some pre-game interviews in the locker room. The other reporter was sitting next to me, and we were just shooting the breeze, when all of a sudden he starts telling me the anecdote. I let him get about two sentences into the tale, before I stopped him in his tracks with the words, that’s a lie! He did a double-take, and asked me what I meant. I told him that the player could not possibly said such a thing, because he had never encountered the player without me being around. He was silent for about 30 seconds, as his face turned crimson, his eyes pointed downward. He was busted, and he knew it, and was embarrassed. But then he looked up at me smiled and said “If you say something long enough and loud enough, people will believe it!”

What brought this story back to mind was the shotgun trade on Tuesday night, that the Sacramento Kings made with the Houston Rockets. In case you are not aware, the Kings traded “Tru-Warrior” Ron Artest to the Rockets, in a very lopsided deal. Sacramento in return for the veteran power forward, will receive veteran guard Bobby Jackson, rookie forward Donte Green and a first round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Now granted the Rockets only control Artest for the year, but this is all President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie could get? Or was he forced to just get rid of “Tru-Warrior” because the Team Owners the Maloof Brothers were just sick of the situation?

Even in a career that has been filled with controversy, the month of July was chaotic for the relationship between the Kings and Artest. Artest had the chance to opt out of his contract before July 1, and chose not to do so. Almost as soon as the calendar turned to the month of July Artest started to express remorse. Artest made statements that the team owners Joe and Gavin Maloof did not appreciate him, and then he took it to another level. Artest told reporters that he was seeking a trade, and that he was now representing himself. This news came as quite a shock to “Tru-Warrior’s” agent who when contacted by reporters, told them that their relaying the story was the first he had heard of that information.

Team owner Joe Maloof responded to Artest’s dramatics. The “Sacramento Bee” spoke with the Kings owner about the ongoing situation. Maloof told reporters “He has to balance the way he acts. He’s got to control his emotions a little better. You’ve got to try and keep your cool a little bit! Take a deep breath and quit flying off the handle with comments that don’t make sense. I hate to say it that way, but that’s how I feel. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

The Kings owner said that Artest’s statements have “never changed our opinions of him. We brag about him every chance we get. We speak out about how appreciative we are for everything he’s done. And he’s done a lot. People like him. We like him. He’s just got to settle down.”

But unfortunately “Tru-Warrior” would not settle down, and apparently the Maloof brothers lost their patience. They held all the cards in the game that Artest was trying to play, but they blinked. Whether they thought he would be a disruptive force in the clubhouse, or they just hit their limit, they settled for far too little.

So let’s look at the results; Artest gets traded to Houston which now has to be upgraded to elite contender status in the Western Conference. Add “Tru-Warrior” to a healthy Yao, Tracy who looked like he took a step back in time last season. Rafer Alston actually looked like a legitimate NBA point guard last season, instead of “Skip-To-My-Lu” his playground persona. Now you have Shane Battier coming off the bench, which only makes you stronger. Houston, will be right in the mix with New Orleans, San Antonio, L.A., and Utah, with Phoenix and Dallas falling behind.

As for the Kings, they get a journeyman guard, two late first round picks, in Donte Green and who ever they pick up next year, and maybe most important peace and quiet. All because Tru-Warrior said something long enough and loud enough.