Ron Artest wants out, should have opted out

I hate to say I told you so, but I told Ron Artest to opt out.

Of course, I was thinking that Artest would have his pick of five-year, mid-level offers and he’d be able to play deep into the postseason for the rest of his career. But he decided to play out his contract because he thought he was in the Kings’ long-term plans. Now that he knows that he’s not, he wants to be traded.

There is the ongoing rumor of the Lakers giving up Lamar Odom, but lately the rumblings are that the Lakers aren’t so sure they want to give up Odom for Artest. The Heat have come up as a possibility (with Shawn Marion as trade bait), and Miami would probably be a good fit.

The good news is that Artest has decided to act as his own agent, much to the surprise of his actual agent, so at the very least this should be entertaining. The downside is that the crazier he acts, the less interest he’ll draw. It’s a double-edged sword, I’m afraid.