The attention-hungry Ron Artest is back at it again.
I guess it could be worse. This time around he's not fighting with fans, he's only asking for a trade; but nonetheless, he has shown that not much has changed since that fateful day in Detroit last season.
After all, he could have done things the quiet way. He could have gone to Pacers officials and told them what was going on and what he wanted, allowed them to begin dealing and checking out offers to try to grant his wish.
But that's not Ron Artest — never has been, never will be. He has to be the center of attention. Just think back to that day after the brawl when, instead of apologizing or trying to explain himself or do anything respectful, he decided it was the perfect time to promote a CD which "his girls" had on the shelves.
This time around it was Artest, instead of showing any respect to the Pacer organization, going straight to the press to make his desire to leave Indianapolis public.
"I still think my past haunts me here. I think somewhere else I'm starting fresh," Artest told the Indianapolis Star. "I'm coming in with baggage, but people already know about it and how I'm going to be."
Baggage? You're coming in with baggage? Baggage is something you carry your groceries home from the store in. Running into the stands and jacking a fan in the face is not baggage.
It's too bad that the NBA organizations' brass can't have enough balls to say, "You know what, Ronnie? We do know your past and we're not going to do you any favors by giving you a fresh start."
Unfortunately, Artest is one of a handful of players that actually plays defense in the Association — he once won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award — so there will be teams that will be willing to take a chance on him.
Unfortunately, even the league's new poster boy, LeBron James, shot his mouth off, saying to the Associated Press, "Any team in this league could use a guy like Ron Artest."
I think, and better yet I hope, that what James really meant to say was that any team could use a player like Ron Artest.
After all, what team wouldn't like the player that is Ron Artest? He's averaging nearly 20 points and five boards per game and leads the league in steals. But I can only hope that no team wants the guy that is Ron Artest. Nobody should want the egotistic, attention-starved forward that snaps with the flick of a plastic cup and really doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks about it.
"I think Ronnie is a guy who acts first and thinks later," team president and chief executive Donnie Walsh told the AP.
Wow … no kidding. You think? That may be the understatement of the century.
Yet Artest will still have a job for a few more years because the league motto is dunk first, be accountable for your actions later and dress appropriately in between.
This is why I do everything I can to pay as little attention as possible to the NBA. But every once in a while there comes an issue that I just can't pass up.
Of course, this whole situation never would have been a situation at all if only NBA commissioner David Stern would have banned him permanently from playing in the league following the brawl in Auburn Hills.
He wouldn't have been so out of line in doing so. Nobody would have to put up with him again, and I wouldn't have to be writing this right now.
It seems that Artest's teammate — at least for a few more days — Jermaine O'Neal said it best to the AP: "I'm not going to answer any more questions about Ron Artest."
That's a stance that everyone probably wants to take right now. Unfortunately, where there is a camera or a microphone, there is Artest making another scene or comment that everyone that he associates himself with will have to answer another series of questions about.
In all actuality, the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis may be getting the best Christmas present of all in getting to relieve themselves of Artest. Of course, it isn't really in the holiday spirit to be giving out a lump of coal.
Shame on Artest, and shame on any team that gives him the time of day.
