Everyone knows that Ron Artest is an odd guy. He marches to the beat of a different drummer. He’s a few crackers short of a picnic. I could go on.
His agent, Mark Stevens, told the Sacramento Bee that his client is leaning towards not opting out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $8.5 million. (Note: A number of news organizations have been saying that his salary next season will be $7.4 M, but I go by Hoopshype.com, and they show $8.5 M. He made $7.8 M last season, and these contracts usually don’t decrease over time.)
“If he opts out, it’s obvious we’re looking at a midlevel exception deal (approximately $6 million per season),” Mark Stevens said. “Ron fully understands that if he opts out, he runs the risk of Sacramento saying, OK, opt out, you can leave, and we won’t get nothing for you, or we can do a sign and trade.
“Or Ron runs the risk of knowing he’s open to the free market and he might get midlevel exception. All the cards are definitely on the table.”
First of all, I’d be extremely leery of leaving my business interests in the hands of a guy who says things like “and we won’t get nothing for you.” You’d think that avoiding double negatives would be a prerequisite to negotiating multi-million dollar contracts, but apparently, you’d be wrong.
Anyway, with all of Artest’s baggage, it’s understandable that his camp believes that a mid-level deal is the best he could do in the free market. Assuming we see the same salary increase as we did last summer, a mid-level deal would start at around $5.6 million per season. So, by opting out, Artest could be giving up $2.8 million next season.
However, there is always the chance that the Kings could work out a sign-and-trade, which would allow Artest to make something closer to his market value ($10-$12 M per season). Artest’s value is a bit depressed due to all of the baggage he brings with him, but he has been a good citizen since arriving in the Kings and the league has taken notice.
Regardless, if he were to opt-out, Artest would have the opportunity to join a contender willing to commit to a five-year mid-level deal. (Remember, Artest is only 28, so he should be effective for the remainder of his contract). Wouldn’t the Cavs like to add him? Even though he plays the same position as LeBron, both players are versatile, so they could play together on the wing. Plus, LeBron has the star power to keep Artest’s wackiness in check. Or how about the Lakers, who have a huge hole at small forward? It’s conceivable that they plan to slide Lamar Odom to the three once Andrew Bynum comes back, but if they had a chance to add Artest, it would allow the Lakers to let Odom go after his contract expires next season. The Spurs are another team that desperately needs some new blood, though they have been leery in the past of ruining their vaunted chemistry. Still, I don’t think Artest would be much of a distraction with Tim Duncan around.
Wouldn’t Artest rather play for one of these teams? The Kings probably aren’t going to re-sign him, so isn’t he just delaying the inevitable for a year? That, coupled with the security that a long-term contract would bring, makes his decision not to opt out a strange one. If Artest were to have a career-ending injury in the final year of his contract, he’d essentially lose the $20 million he could have locked up had he signed a long-term deal at the mid-level.
But hey, I’m just a sports blogger, not no sports agent.
