Ron Artest Doesn't Want to Be a Nugget

Ron Artest isn't long for Sacramento, that much seems clear. Whether he ends up in Los Angeles or Miami or someplace else entirely remains to be seen, but it's probably safe to cross Denver off that list. In a cryptic email to Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News, Artest revealed that somewhere along the line he developed a grudge against the Nuggets:

"I cannot play in Denver because they question my drive to finish my career off strong and not embarrass my family,'' Artest wrote Sunday night. "Any player wants to win a championship is low risk.''

When asked to clarify, Artest refused to go into details:

"That's not even an option to be a Nugget,'' he wrote. "They let me know how they felt about me already.''

He did go on to say that he enjoyed watching the Nuggets play and in particular praised the play of Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith, which makes you think his problem isn't with the players but the front office. The Nuggets and Kings were rumored to be in serious talks at the deadline but never found a common ground.

Connecting the dots, it seems possible that Artest has reason to believe talks broke down because the Nuggets questioned his desire to win. (Unless, of course, Artest's anger is once again misguided after receiving "wrong info" ...) But whatever the case is, Denver need not concern itself with joining the fray for his services, now or next summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.