Ready to Launch

The current NBA offseason has had its fair share of blockbuster moves. Kicked off by the can-you-top-this tradefest involving the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors that ultimately led to Philadelphia being the unexpected winner of the Elton Brand sweepstakes. You could say that after the smoke had cleared, the Warriors ended up a little poorer by failing to land Brand when they were so close while losing Baron Davis in the process and getting only Corey Maggette in consolation. Contrast that to the Clippers, who, although they lost Brand and Maggette to free agency, answered back by signing Baron and Ricky Davis while plugging the hole that Brand left in the middle with defensive ace and fantasy basketball superstar Marcus Camby. But the summer move that might have the biggest impact in the league when the regular season rolls along doesn’t even involve the swap of any of the max-deal players mentioned.

In one of the biggest steals of this year’s hyperactive trade market, the Houston Rockets just acquired Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings for Bobby Jackson, Donte Green, and their first round pick next year. No longer can teams push the Rockets around and focus only on Yao Ming on the post and Tracy McGrady in the wings. Adding Artest instantly toughens their already formidable defense and provides another potential 20+ point scorer for opposing teams to worry about. With the ability to shut down the opposing team’s best scorer, while at the same time punishing whoever gets assigned to guard him, this move could have as much of an effect as the Kevin Garnett trade of last season, barring any blowups or chemistry issues. Houston has essentially assembled a team that could legitimately compete in most decent-sized fantasy leagues.

Consider the line-up that the Rockets now boasts: Yao Ming (7′6″) at center, Luis Scola (6′9″) at power forward, Ron Artest (6′7″) at small forward, T-Mac (6′8″) at shooting guard, and Rafer Alston (6′2″) at the point, with Shane Battier (6′8″) as their sixth man. That’s a lot of size and talent even in the ultra-competitive western conference. Defense now becomes the least of their problems, with decent perimeter guards in T-Mac and Alston, two surefire lock-down defenders in Artest and Battier, and Yao towering above anyone who manages to slip by.

Of course, the deal does come with some risk, as shown by an already brewing controversy between Artest and Yao even as news of the agreement barely reaches 48 hours. Because Ron Artest is widely considered eccentric at best, there’s no telling what he’ll be doing from one day to another. I’ve personally been burned when I had him on my fantasy team a couple of seasons back, and let’s not forget what he’s capable of, never more evident than during the Pacers-Pistons brawl where he was caught in the eye of the storm, and the subsequent meltdown and break-up of that promising Pacers team. Definitely not for the faint of heart. When he is focused though, you’d be hard pressed to find a better two-way player throughout the league.

We’ve still got around 3 months before the start of the regular season, but already the buzz generated by these trades has fans anticipating the matchups and performances of the teams involved. We could be looking back next April at this move by the Rockets as the one that pushes them over the top.