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Bye Bye to Artest!!
AND GOOD RIDDANCE!!
BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - It appears the Indiana Pacers have found a taker for troubled forward Ron Artest.
According to ESPN's Jim Gray, the Pacers and Sacramento Kings have agreed in principle on a trade that will send Artest to the Kings for 6-10 forward Peja Stojakovic.
The trade is reportedly awaiting league approval.
The 26-year-old Artest was placed on the inactive list by the Pacers in December and subsequently fined $10,000 by the league for publicly requesting a trade.
Artest averaged 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.63 steals in 16 games this season.
Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star who has the right to opt out of his contract after this season, is averaging 16.5 points and shooting a career-worst 40 percent from the field.
Last season, Artest was suspended 75 games - the longest non-drug ban in NBA history - for his major role in the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004.
After a scuffle on the court with Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace, Artest was hit with a partially full plastic cup thrown from the stands and charged into the seats, attacking a fan he believed threw the cup.
The incident triggered a full-scale riot between players and fans and led to changes in security measures at all NBA arenas. Artest later faced criminal charges but was sentenced to probation and community service. In the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended for instigating an altercation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley and fined and suspended for smashing a TV camera after a game at New York. He also got into a shoving match with a Pacers official after a postseason loss.
According to ESPN's Jim Gray, the Pacers and Sacramento Kings have agreed in principle on a trade that will send Artest to the Kings for 6-10 forward Peja Stojakovic.
The trade is reportedly awaiting league approval.
The 26-year-old Artest was placed on the inactive list by the Pacers in December and subsequently fined $10,000 by the league for publicly requesting a trade.
Artest averaged 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.63 steals in 16 games this season.
Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star who has the right to opt out of his contract after this season, is averaging 16.5 points and shooting a career-worst 40 percent from the field.
Last season, Artest was suspended 75 games - the longest non-drug ban in NBA history - for his major role in the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004.
After a scuffle on the court with Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace, Artest was hit with a partially full plastic cup thrown from the stands and charged into the seats, attacking a fan he believed threw the cup.
The incident triggered a full-scale riot between players and fans and led to changes in security measures at all NBA arenas. Artest later faced criminal charges but was sentenced to probation and community service. In the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended for instigating an altercation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley and fined and suspended for smashing a TV camera after a game at New York. He also got into a shoving match with a Pacers official after a postseason loss.
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