The Lakers were humbled at home by the Mavericks Friday, a contest that saw new LA addition Ron Artest, in foul trouble early, rendered a non-factor offensively. Earlier in the month, the shy, retiring Mark Cuban predicted Artest would prove a divisive force for the Lakers, a charge the Dallas owner repeated yesterday after being asked to respond to Artest’s question, “what team do I fit on? should i not be in the NBA?” From the OC Register’s Janis O’Carr :
Cuban said Friday that he indeed was glad to see Artest on the Western Conference rival because there always is the possibility that Artest™s volatile nature will get the better of him and he will cause problems for the team.
œHistory repeats itself, Cuban said. œI™m not saying something you guys haven™t considered, right? That™s just the risk. Every team has to deal with chemistry and the impact of the chemistry on the team. Normally, you try to minimize that.
œRon is an amazing talent, he™s a great guy. I don™t really know him, but the way he™s handled this is phenomenal. I give him a ton of credit. But it is what it is.
So what team does Cuban think Artest would fit best?
œI don™t know the culture of every team, so I don™t know where he would fit in best ¦. Maybe Detroit?