Bringing Ron Artest into Houston certainly sounds like a good decision in basketball terms. The Rockets gave up Bobby Jackson (2008 version not the 2002 version), Donte Green and their 2009 draft pick (which will certainly be in the high teens if not the 20s). In return they receive a stellar defender with ferocious intensity and someone on the offensive end who could easily drop 17 points a game. But what about the ole chemistry?Shane Battier seems like a slightly poor mans sane version of Ron Artest. He defends hard and is serviceable on the offensive end all while being a model citizen. How exactly is he going to deal with being on the court/losing playing time due to Artests arrival? For Yao Ming and T-Mac they certainly will welcome the added talent, but they both are soft and a little introverted, quite the opposite of Ronny Ron. How exactly will they become good teams with Artest? Can you even for a second imagine Artest and Yao conversing?
The Rockets certainly had to take the chance. They gave up no important pieces and now have a tri-fecta of all star caliber players with significant role players. It gives them the opportunity to contend and possibly win the West. But they certainly are taking a big chance with team chemistry and then again everything for the Rockets still comes down to Yao and T-Mac being unable to play in the postseason every year because they are amongst the most fragile players in the league. So, if both go down like any other year, this trade will end up being all for naught. But at least for the moment the Rockets are now arguably the most intriguing watch in the NBA.
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