Ron Artest is actually a pretty nice guy to the guys he guards, despite being, you know, Ron Artest. He’s been complimentary to Brandon Roy, Kevin Durant, many stars. Turns out Michael Beasley is not such a star in Ron’s mind. The reason? Not smart enough. From the Pioneer Press:
“Beasley should watch (Miami star) LeBron James ,” Artest said. “Beasley’s actually a better shooter than LeBron, but the smarts are not there. He’s talking so much trash instead of worrying about the game. He needs to become a winner.”
How’s that?
“It’s just the way you play, his awareness on the court; somebody should have told him,” Artest said.
That’s right, Mike. The guy who ran into the stands to beat a guy up who he thought threw a soda at him thinks you’re on the slow side. The guy who shaved “Tru Warier” and many other terrible things into his hair thinks you should reconsider your choices on the floor. The guy who went out partying in his jersey after winning a title thinks your head isn’t where it needs to be.
Artest goes on to criticize Beasley only having one go-to move, which Beasley responds to by saying as soon as they figure it out he’ll get a new one. Beasley doesn’t seem to get that some of his top scoring performances have come on a high number of shots. Volume shooters are fun, but they’re not elite. Beasley would do well to listen to what Artest’s trying to tell him, but somehow I doubt those words will resonate with the Wolves’ “star.”