NBA Notes (WEDNESDAY)

Seems like yesterday I was talking about the lack of big moves in the NBA, while also preaching about the impact that the smaller moves will have on the upcoming season, and here we are today with a big name changing teams.

• Ron Artest was acquired last night by the Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, a future first round pick, and 1 million dollars in cash. Artest is a difference maker who will immediately make the Rockets one of the top teams in the Western Conference. This is the same Rockets team that had a 22 game winning streak last season without him and without Yao for most of it. ESPN's John Hollinger reports that the Rockets are going to attempt to play Artest at power forward in a starting lineup with Yao, Shane Battier, Tracy McGrady, and Raefer Alston. That is as strong a lineup as there is in the league, and they have a very good bench led by Luis Scola, Brent Barry, and Luther Head. The Rockets were one of the best defensive teams in the league last season, but had trouble at times scoring the basketball. We all know that Artest is mostly known for his defense, but the guy is a career 16ppg guy, and that will help alleviate the pressure on McGrady and Yao to carry the load. Every team would love to have a guy like Artest be their third option on offense. He can score inside and out and will demand double teams on the block, which will allow their three point shooters to flourish. It will be interesting to see how he handles covering the power forwards on nightly basis, but he is strong and crafty, which is what you need to succeed down there, and he also has Yao behind him to block shots. Artest, Battier, and McGrady are all versatile defenders who can switch up depending on the match up, so maybe it will not be an issue at all. Any Artest conversation has to include his well documented personal history, which has been shaky his whole career. Will he keep himself in line all season? Who knows, but the Rockets have two things going for them, he has a great history with Rick Adelman, and he is in a contract season and looking for a long term deal from some team. These are strong factors, but who knows with him if they are enough to keep him from straying. For the time being, the Rockets put themselves over night into the conversation with the Lakers, Spurs, and Hornets as the top squad in the West. Artest brings the toughness that was arguably the missing ingredient for the Rockets. Will the get past the first round finally? Stay tuned.
• The Chicago Bulls have verbally agreed to a 6 year, 71 million dollar deal with restricted free agent Luol Deng. Deng, 23 years old, is a key piece to the future of the Bulls and they could not afford to see him go anywhere else. He is developing into the teams go to scorer and they believe that he will flourish alongside rookie point guard Derrick Rose. Rose will push the tempo and Deng will get a ton of easy looks on the wing because of it. Is this the year Deng makes good on his talent and becomes an all star? The money they are paying him sure makes it sound like the Bulls believe so. Now the team can turn their attention to their other restricted free agent, Ben Gordon.
• Bye Bye Nets and hello Moscow. Nenad Kristic we hardly knew ya!