As for the starting lineup, don’t pencil in Shareef as the starter for the rest of the season yet. Kenny Thomas has been lighting it up and Rick Adelman has a potential platoon or position controversy on his hands.

Here are his stats over the past 30 days, see what you think:
FG%: 0.513
FT%: 0.735
Points: 13.1
Boards: 9.7
Assists: 3.1
Steals: 0.9
Blocks: 0.3

If Kenny Thomas can get 3+ assists/game with floor time, imagine what Ron Artest can do. He has averaged close to 2.5 assists/game over the past several years, in an offense that “didn’t suit him”.

Additionally, he was playing half-heartedly in Indiana this season (was very obvious), and had a wrist injury that lingered from October through mid-December (maybe longer). That negatively impacted his points, boards, blocks, and FT%.

He’ll be top 25 for as many games as he can stay on the court. If he has any semblance of sanity left in his head, he will realize this could be his last chance to play in the NBA. How’s that for motivation?

Well, here is his chance. Replacing Peja, known for ONLY playing offense, he’ll need to step up in the wing spot and provide offense, especially with Bonzi Wells still sidelined.

Assuming Ron puts out the way that we know he is capable of, the Kings look to have a very solid front five with Bibby/Wells*/Artest/SAR/Miller. Artest will get the chance to show that he is an elite wing player and Sacramento is good enough to win many games this yaer and definately be a major player next year.

Anyways, as a person who’s held onto Artest since draft day, I’m happy he’s back (and in the fantasy heaven of sacramento for crying out loud), especially since G. Wallace just went down.

Anyways, it’s about freakin time.

I also have a random column suggestion — people talk about “punting” a category often. You’ve mentioned that it’s really hard to win a league with a “1″ in a category. Given that, is it ever worth it to punt a category? At what point in the season? I think this can be an especially relevant question in turnovers, where all a league’s top teams tend to struggle (because they have more elite players who handle the ball).

1) Play in at least 35 of the Kings remaining 40 games and perform as a top 25 fantasy player. (In other words, worth the wait, at least relatively speaking.)

2) Play in at least 35 of the Kings remaining 40 games and perform as a top 50 fantasy player. (Sort of worth the wait.)

3) Play in at least 35 of the Kings remaining 40 games and perform as a top 100 fantasy player. (We waited all that time for this.)

4) Miss a large portion of time due to NBA suspension. (Stern, but fair.)

5) Miss a large portion of time due to team-implemented suspension. (Don’t front on the Maloofs.)

6) Be the subject of continued trade rumors.

7) Bite Brad Miller in the face.

8) Have much public support after biting Brad Miller in the face, because Brad Miller’s an ass.

I’m very glad the trade is happening now. In my league, we are doing a manual IL since we drafted before the NBA announced it. As a result, a couple of teams took risks in the draft (e.g. Amare Stoudemire), assuming they wouldn’t have to carry dead weight in a valuable roster spot until March.

Anyway, I stashed Artest on IL when he went down with a wrist injury in December, and he has been sitting there until now since they never confirmed that he is healthy enough to play.

Now? Gerald Wallace just went down for 4-6 weeks and I was planning to switch the 2 players out anyway, crossing my fingers for a quick trade. Hopefully Ron is on the court in time for when I can activate him for Monday’s games!

In a meeting with Pacers management, forward Ron Artest has reportedly agreed to play for the Kings. According to ESPN’s Jim Gray, the trade with Sacramento involving forward Peja Stojakovic is back on pending a conversation between Artest and Kings’ ownership.

Can you tell I’m one of those Ron-Ron owners? I’ve been following every bit of news since December 11.