Not yet confirmed by any of the national sports big dogs, but Houston Chronicle ran this story...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5914062.html

In what had been a quiet offseason, the Rockets are about to make a lot of noise.

In a stunning move designed to push the Rockets from solid playoff team toward legitimate NBA contenders, the Rockets reached agreement Tuesday with the Sacramento Kings to acquire gifted but controversial forward Ron Artest, according to an NBA executive with knowledge of the deal.

The Rockets will give up guard Bobby Jackson, a No. 1 draft pick next season and another player that the individual with knowledge of the trade could not name. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey could not be immediately reached for comment.

Because of contract considerations, the trade will not be announced until Aug. 14, though that would indicate the deal could include Rockets' first round draft pick Donte' Green. Green is not permitted to be traded until then, one month from when he signed with the Rockets.

There could also be other players involved to make the money match but none that the Rockets would plan to keep. The Rockets will also send the Kings cash in excess of $1 million.

Artest, 28, is considered one of the NBA's most unpredictable characters and was the central figure in a 2004-05 brawl with fans in Auburn Hills, Mich. He is also considered among the league's toughest lock-down defenders and sometimes, an unstoppable offensive force.

The 39 points he scored against the Rockets in 2006-07 season are his career high.

A 6-7, 248 pound forward, he had publicly lamented his decision last month not to opt out of the last season of his contract to become a free agent, renewing the Kings' efforts to move him.

Artest played 40 games for Rockets coach Rick Adelman after he was traded by the Indiana Pacers to the Kings in the 2005-06 season, averaging 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and a career-high 4.2 assists. He was also a first-team NBA All-Defensive team selection. He offered to donate his salary if the Kings were willing to retain Adelman after that season.

In nine NBA seasons out of St. John's, where he was a third-team All-American, Artest has averaged 16 points and 5.1 rebounds. He was the 2003-04 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 20.5 points per game last season.

Artest, however, has been unable to stay clear from trouble. He was arrested in March 2007 and charged with domestic abuse and eventually sentenced to 20 days in jail and community service. That sentence was reduced to 10 days in a work release program. He had also been charged with animal neglect, though charges were not filed and Artest has since worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on several campaigns.

In addition to his 73-game suspension after going into the stands in the Nov. 19, 2004 brawl (the longest suspension in NBA history other than for drug policy violations or gambling), he has been suspended for destroying a television camera in New York, for an altercation with then Heat coach Pat Riley in Miami and for numerous flagrant fouls.

Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1999, he was traded in 2002 to the Pacers, having some of his best seasons, including his one All Star season in 2003-04. Prior to the fight in 2004, he was suspended for two games for asking for a month off to promote an R&B album by a group on his production label.

After his return to the Pacers the season after the fight, he asked for a trade and was placed on the inactive roster.

Though Artest has been best used as a small forward, Rockets forward Shane Battier is also considered among the league's best players at defending small forwards and shooting guards. But because Artest can defend players from small guards to power forwards, the Rockets could finish games with Artest and Battier on the court together, either with Tracy McGrady sliding over to point guard or with Artest matching up with power forwards.

So Bobby Jackson's expiring contract, a pick, and presumably Donte Greene is enough value for you to trade Artest, but Stackhouse, Bass and possibly a draft pick weren't enough?

I guess I'm missing something here... Having watched Brandon Bass mature over the last year, and having seen Donte Greene play all through high school and his time at Syracuse, there's no way I'd rather have him than Bass. Greene is basically a Quentin Richardson starter kit, except Q used to actually attack the rim and had some explosiveness to his game before all his injury issues. Not a Donte Greene fan at all, and I'm completely shocked at this return considering how confident Kings fans were that Petrie wouldn't screw this up...

Alright, for the last couple of weeks, I thought this might be a bit of an overreaction, but now, I'm comfortable in this conclusion.

The window has closed, this core group of players has run its course, and it just isn't going to happen with this bunch.

Avery is completely inept on the sidelines, and it seems to some extent that he's began to wear on some of the players. The Mavs continue to lose close games to their peers out West, and losing this many close games over and over and over falls 100% on Avery's shoulders. Losing close games is more about coaching than it is anything else.

This team isn't making the playoffs unless Dirk is back before the Warriors or Lakers matchups later in the week, and even then it's no guarantee. But I really don't think he's going to be back before the full 2 weeks. If he were just hurt, I'd be all over his ass for not being back on the court, but he'd be an absolute idiot to jump back on the floor before he's ready after the way that knee/ankle looked last week.

Honestly, being in the Lottery might be the best thing for this team right now. It's going to be their only real way of adding a legitimate asset to the roster this offseason, unless they're willing to part with Josh Howard, Dirk, or Kidd's expiring contract to bring in fresh faces. I honestly would rather be in the Lottery than squeak into the playoffs and sit through another first round exit that gets us nowhere...

I'm most interested to see how Cuban is going to handle this whole thing... A few years back, he'd flip his lid and make blockbuster trades every offseason if this team wasn't in the Conference Finals every year. He's calmed down and learned to have some patience with the roster, but at this point it seems like the old Cuban may be what this team needs.

As other teams in the West are younger, and continue to grow and get better (Lakers, Jazz, Hornets, Blazers coming up, Rockets if they could ever stay healthy), Dallas has gotten older, less athletic, and are obviously on the decline. For a team that already has serious issues with confidence and mental toughness, it'd be almost impossible to envision them overcoming another disappointment of epic proportions. I think it really might be time to blow this thing up, rather than continue to hold on to what little hope this team has left.

In sports, you're either competing for a championship or you're rebuilding. Anything in between is completely useless. And that's where the Mavs are right now. They aren't a serious threat to anyone in the playoffs, and they don't have any young pieces to rebuild around.

[/end rant]

LOL That may be a little bit scattered and all over the place, but I hope you get where I'm going...

Discuss.

Per Yahoo Sports...

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And what does it say of the Grizzlies? Well, it says that they're bleeding financial losses, desperate to strip payroll and make themselves more attractive for a potential buyer. They're shopping guard Mike Miller throughout the league too, sources say, and it's just a matter of time until they've stripped themselves to the core. Essentially, they're the Vancouver Grizzlies again.
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If this guy is available, THERE'S the guy Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson need to be chasing after. Jason Kidd would be great, but he costs too much in the way of assets. Miller could likely be had for that fudged KVH contract and a 2009 draft pick. He fills the big SG hole for the Mavericks, and solves the need for another pure deep threat to spread things out offensively... Mike Miller makes this team the best team in the Western Conference. Go get him, now.

Per ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/s...

The Lions have decided to trade or release Rogers, according to reports. Coach Rod Marinelli and team spokesman Bill Keenist have both said they expect all players under contract to return.

Rogers, who has served one four-game suspension for taking a banned dietary supplement and could face an eight-game suspension if he tests positive again, has three years left on his contract.

Rogers, who has been to two Pro Bowls, had a good start to the season and was named NFC defensive player of the week after returning a 66-yard interception for a touchdown and recording 2½ sacks in the Lions' 44-7 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 9. But in the six-game losing streak that followed, he disappeared.

"He was a good player for us for nine games," Marinelli said at the time. "But it's the endurance all the way through the season, that's what I'm looking for."

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Per an article in the Tennessean...

Coach Jeff Fisher on Friday said the Titans still haven't decided on the future of suspended cornerback Pacman Jones. Jones apparently isn't going to be upset if he's not back in Tennessee. Appearing in a video shot by rollingout.com, Jones responds to a question about where he will be in 2-3 years. "Hopefully 2 Pro Bowls. Hopefully I can get out of Tennessee. I want to go to Dallas," Jones said. "So we'll see how it goes and I am just going to keep my head up.'' It's unclear when the video was shot, though it's believed it was filmed several months ago and was just posted on the site.

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I know this has become an on-going weekly argument here, but here we go again...

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Per ESPN...

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Ric Bucher made a report on ESPN that Dallas had contacted the Lakers and made initial inquiries into the Kobe discussions, dangling Josh Howard and Jason Terry.

Steven A Smith said on ESPN Radio that he knows the fact that Kobe wants to play in either Chicago or Dallas. He said the rumored Josh/Jet deal isn't enough, and that Dallas would likely need to recruit a third party to sweeten it's deal, or start talking about Josh/Devin together rather than Jet...

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Rumors are circulating a bit that the Pirates may be looking to move him this offseason...He's making under 6 million next year and about 7.5 in 2009, so he's a VERY good bargain for what people have come to expect from him...Down year this year, but had knee surgery early on in the year and miss time with tendinitis...The Pirates are going to want 2 good prospects in return, with one needing to be a pitcher...

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