Artest may be Houston's problem

Source: Trade reuniting troubled forward with Adelman 'feels very done'

By SAM AMICK
THE SACRAMENTO BEE

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A source close to the Sacramento Kings said Tuesday a trade has been agreed upon sending Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets for former Kings point guard Bobby Jackson, first-round draft pick Donte Greene, next season's first-round pick and cash considerations of approximately $1 million.

The deal, the source said, cannot be finalized until Aug. 14 because of the nature of Greene's contract. A Rockets official who requested anonymity because of the private nature of trade talks said of the likely deal: "It feels very done to me."

A second source close to the Kings said second-round draft picks Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. could be sent to Houston as a means to keep the Kings under the luxury tax threshold ($71 million). Both players have partially guaranteed contracts that aren't fully guaranteed until the regular season begins. That element of the deal, however, could be handled with different pieces in the deal as well.

"We've had some very positive discussions with Houston involving Ron, but no trade is imminent at this time," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said through a statement Tuesday.

Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Jackson -- who will earn $6.09 million in the final season of his contract -- said he had just been told of the likely trade.

"I got wind of it, but it's not done yet," said Jackson, who was a fan favorite with the Kings from 2000 to 2005. "It's a possibility. I don't know yet."

The Artest era in Houston will begin just as it did in Sacramento -- with Rick Adelman as his coach. It is quite an addition for the Rockets, who needed a potent third piece to complement Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming after losing in the first round of the playoffs in three of the four seasons the superstars have been teamed.

When the mercurial small forward first was traded to the Kings from Indiana in January 2006, he flourished under Adelman. The Kings went 26-14 down the stretch with Artest after starting the season 18-24, then pushed the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to six games in a competitive first-round playoff series.

As recently as this summer, Artest had shared his admiration for Adelman, saying he wished his free-agency year had come that season because of his ability to play well under the veteran coach. It is an ideal reunion for Artest, who decided not to opt out of his contract by the June 30 deadline and almost immediately expressed regret for doing so.

While Artest repeatedly had stated his desire to remain with the Kings, the organization was not interested in signing him to a long-term deal. Artest, however, had been given a different impression. On July 1, he requested a conference call with his agent and Petrie in which he -- according to sources with knowledge of the talks -- expressed his desire for a maximum contract.

To the contrary, he was informed that he was not in the team's long-term plans. The Kings' plan, of course, was to further the youth movement.

Green, a 6-foot-10-inch small forward who played one season at Syracuse, was taken by Memphis with the 28th pick and traded on draft night to Houston as part of a three-team deal also involving Portland. He is seen as a major piece of the team's future, an athletic scorer whom many league executives expected to be taken higher in the draft.

His coming-out party in Las Vegas summer league earlier this month seemed to support that notion, as Green (22.6 points in five games) was the second leading scorer. He will earn $971,160 in the first of his two guaranteed years.