RON ARTEST Height: 6-foot-7 Weight: 246 pounds Age: 26 years old Stats: (2003-04) 18.3 points on 42.1% shooting, 5.3 boards, 2.08 steals in 37.2 minutes Status: Under contract

The 6-foot-7 Artest was drafted with the 16th overall selection by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 NBA Draft. While slow to get his offense going, the solidly-built Artest showed immediately that he was tough as nails and an excellent defender. By his third season his offensive game was solid, and after a trade to Indiana, he improved in each of his first 5 seasons with the Pacers.

However, despite success on the floor, the man dubbed by ESPN the Magazine as the "scariest man in basketball" had other issues, all centered around an anger control problem. All his life, through numerous family issues, Artest dealt with problems by lashing out and getting physical, and it carried out on the court at St. John's, Chicago and Indiana.

It all blew up in the 2004-05 season, starting with his game -- Artest started out the first 7 games of the 2004-2005 season on a career best pace, averaging over 24 points a night on nearly 50% shooting to go with 6.4 boards. But during a contest in which "Ron Ron" and the Pacers were blowing out the Pistons in Detroit, a game even people who are not fans of the NBA now know about, Artest laid a hard foul on Ben Wallace, who took exception. A scuffle ensued, with Artest uncharacteristically backing off. But a Detroit fan tossed a cup of beer at Artest and all hell broke loose. Artest went in to the stands after the fan, fisticuffs broke out all over the place and the rest is history.

The league responded quickly and severely, suspending Artest for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, where ironically the Pacers fell to Detroit. He is under contract, but could be dealt by the Pacers for the right price.

Rocket Perspective
Putting all other factors aside and just focusing on his play on the court (which is admittedly hard to do), there is likely no other potentially available player that could impact the Rockets more than Artest.

The Rockets have a strong defensive scheme, but lack a player who can shutdown an opponent's best guard or small forward. Artest is that guy. He is a true shutdown defender that would be an absolute pitbull in Van Gundy's corner. In the Rockets first round series against Dallas, try to imagine Jerry Stackhouse or Jason Terry having similar success against the likes of Artest... not happening. Making that facet of his game all the more deadly is the fact that he would in no way be an offensive liability, such as a Ryan Bowen.

On the other hand, a guy like Artest could be more trouble than he's worth. Did he truly learn from the disaster in Detroit? Can any team with him on their roster truly count on him night in and night out? There is potentially no bigger franchise headache risk in the league than Artest right now.

Conclusion
Occasionally you hear fans say, "that player is crazy", but in the case of Artest, it may not be a casual comment -- he clearly is not right in the head. One day after his infamous scuffle, he was on national morning shows promoting his new record album. Even before the fight, he asked the Pacers for a month or more of "time off" during the season to promote the record, and the buzz was Indiana was shopping him. Something just doesn't quite click there for Ron.

But putting his game next to that of Tracy McGrady's is an extremely tempting proposition. Along with Yao Ming, that trio would make the Rockets an absolute media circus, ala the Bulls with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. While that aspect may be fun, the most important element is that Artest would catapult the Rockets among the NBA's defensive elite.

Though the Rockets aren't likely to have the best trade bait, they are in the opposite conference of Indiana. If the Pacers opt to deal him, and that's still a big "if", they know they can not get full value for him. Despite grabbing 16.8 boards a game for the 62-win Spurs in 1994-95, Rodman could net just Will Perdue for San Antonio as a result of the Worm's distractions, and Chicago's gamble of combining a risky firecracker with two megatalents paid off handsomely.