Trade Rumor: Artest to Atlanta?

[Yoda]

January 28, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- There's a shadow that hangs over the Indiana Pacers, gloomy, dense and pervasive. It's one the Pacers, who fell to the dark side of .500 Thursday in an 88-76 loss to the Detroit Pistons, can't shake.

Moreover, it's not necessarily because of the memory of the November brawl in Auburn Hills, Mich., that was in the forefront again against the Pistons.

The shadow is more because of the continued absence of Ron Artest, suspended for the season from that incident. His forced benching casts a pall over the Pacers' season and the future of a team that seemed on the brink of something special when it won 61 games last season.

"I know they're feeling sorry for themselves," Pacers general manager Larry Bird said Thursday. "That's why they've been so up and down. They can look great, and then they struggle. Maybe they could have gotten [to the NBA Finals] this year. Maybe not. But they have to decide to do it together. Their body language is up and down. But the talent is here."

But without Artest, an All-Star and the league's best defender last season, Bird isn't sure what this team can do.

The Pacers talk of having the team they will play the rest of the season with now that Stephen Jackson is back from his 30-game suspension. But there are still court dates, injuries, absences and lethargy from the weight of a disappointing season.

This doesn't all stem from what Artest brings on the court.

He was allowed to practice with the team for the first time Monday, and with Jackson returning, reporters spent time asking Jackson what he thought of Artest practicing.

It's not unlike what the Cubs are going through with Sammy Sosa.

"They get frustrated with him," Bird said. "But they know how valuable he is for them to have success. With him they've had success. But can his teammates put up with Ronnie and, `Did he come to practice today? Why was he here an hour after you guys?' He has not been a model teammate with these guys. It's something we'll have to see."

Or not.

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