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Pacers want to talk to Artest; Stojakovic 'disrespected'
Ron Artest has been summoned to a Wednesday morning meeting by the Indiana Pacers, who want to hear from the player himself on whether he is standing in the way of a trade to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, ESPN.com learned Tuesday night.
Artest and his agent were expected to meet Wednesday morning in Indianapolis with team executives Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh with the hopes the trade can be revived.
The Pacers and Kings were close to a deal Tuesday, and Stojakovic stayed at the team hotel in Philadelphia when it appeared the trade would be finalized. But a source with inner knowledge of the day's events said a call from Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, to the Kings gave them second thoughts about pulling the trigger, and the deal was temporarily shelved.
"The way I was treated today, I was disappointed," Stojakovic told ESPN.com in Philadelphia. "I feel kind of disrespected with the way I found out. Thank God they have TVs here. I understand being traded, but this situation is weird. I had already planned my flight back to Sacramento, and now everything is reversed.
"I guess this is just a business, but the way I was told and the way I found out, I feel I deserved better from [Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof]. Anybody can get traded in the NBA, but the way I found out, it was disrespectful. I deserve better after seven and a half years."
Stojakovic rode the team bus on the two-hour trip to New York after arriving by limo at the Wachovia Center during the second half of Sacramento's 109-103 loss to Philadelphia. The Kings play the Knicks on Wednesday night.
Artest told The Indianapolis Star there was a possibility something still could happen.
"There's no deal," Artest told the newspaper by telephone. "It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things." Artest told the Star he is not against a trade but would like to be involved in negotiations.
"I just want to meet with team officials of whichever team I'm headed to," he said in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site. "I want to play, but I'm following the rules I have to follow. If I have to sit out, I sit out the season."
The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was banished from the team in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.
Before the deal apparently broke down, Kings players were already talking about the trade as if it was a done deal.
"Peja will be missed," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's been in Sacramento for a lot of years, but life goes on in the NBA.
"We'll welcome Ron Artest with open arms and hope he'll be able to help us. You always hear about the situations he's been in and all the hype. Maybe this is the change he needs, to come into our system and flourish."
Artest was a key component to a team that was expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He led the league in steals and was the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game before being deactivated after publicly requesting a trade in early December.
Stojakovic has been having an unproductive, injury-hampered season for the last-place Kings, whose loss Tuesday was their third in a row. Stojakovic's scoring average is down almost eight points from his All-Star level of two years ago, and the Kings are at risk of losing him with nothing in return when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Indiana has been holding out for more than six weeks for an offer that it deems acceptable. A proposed swap for Corey Maggette fell through because of the Pacers' concerns over Maggette's foot injury, and talks with several other Western Conference teams failed to produce a deal that pleased all parties.
If the Artest trade ultimately falls apart, the Kings will be facing an uncomfortable dynamic with Stojakovic, who has never been traded in his NBA career. During his 10-minute interview with ESPN.com, he seemed bewildered and embittered by the day's events. The two-hour bus ride to Manhattan promised to be an uncomfortable one for Stojakovic and his Kings teammates, who, two hours earlier, thought they wouldn't see him again until the next time they faced the Pacers.
Source: ESPN.com
Artest and his agent were expected to meet Wednesday morning in Indianapolis with team executives Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh with the hopes the trade can be revived.
The Pacers and Kings were close to a deal Tuesday, and Stojakovic stayed at the team hotel in Philadelphia when it appeared the trade would be finalized. But a source with inner knowledge of the day's events said a call from Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, to the Kings gave them second thoughts about pulling the trigger, and the deal was temporarily shelved.
"The way I was treated today, I was disappointed," Stojakovic told ESPN.com in Philadelphia. "I feel kind of disrespected with the way I found out. Thank God they have TVs here. I understand being traded, but this situation is weird. I had already planned my flight back to Sacramento, and now everything is reversed.
"I guess this is just a business, but the way I was told and the way I found out, I feel I deserved better from [Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof]. Anybody can get traded in the NBA, but the way I found out, it was disrespectful. I deserve better after seven and a half years."
Stojakovic rode the team bus on the two-hour trip to New York after arriving by limo at the Wachovia Center during the second half of Sacramento's 109-103 loss to Philadelphia. The Kings play the Knicks on Wednesday night.
Artest told The Indianapolis Star there was a possibility something still could happen.
"There's no deal," Artest told the newspaper by telephone. "It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things." Artest told the Star he is not against a trade but would like to be involved in negotiations.
"I just want to meet with team officials of whichever team I'm headed to," he said in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site. "I want to play, but I'm following the rules I have to follow. If I have to sit out, I sit out the season."
The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was banished from the team in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.
Before the deal apparently broke down, Kings players were already talking about the trade as if it was a done deal.
"Peja will be missed," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's been in Sacramento for a lot of years, but life goes on in the NBA.
"We'll welcome Ron Artest with open arms and hope he'll be able to help us. You always hear about the situations he's been in and all the hype. Maybe this is the change he needs, to come into our system and flourish."
Artest was a key component to a team that was expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. He led the league in steals and was the Pacers' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game before being deactivated after publicly requesting a trade in early December.
Stojakovic has been having an unproductive, injury-hampered season for the last-place Kings, whose loss Tuesday was their third in a row. Stojakovic's scoring average is down almost eight points from his All-Star level of two years ago, and the Kings are at risk of losing him with nothing in return when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Indiana has been holding out for more than six weeks for an offer that it deems acceptable. A proposed swap for Corey Maggette fell through because of the Pacers' concerns over Maggette's foot injury, and talks with several other Western Conference teams failed to produce a deal that pleased all parties.
If the Artest trade ultimately falls apart, the Kings will be facing an uncomfortable dynamic with Stojakovic, who has never been traded in his NBA career. During his 10-minute interview with ESPN.com, he seemed bewildered and embittered by the day's events. The two-hour bus ride to Manhattan promised to be an uncomfortable one for Stojakovic and his Kings teammates, who, two hours earlier, thought they wouldn't see him again until the next time they faced the Pacers.
Source: ESPN.com