Ron Artest Traded to the Houston Rockets

Looks like the Sacramento Kings controversial forward Ron Artest is on his way to play alongside Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston.

The Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings agreed to a deal that would send small forward Ron Artest to Houston in exchange for former Sacramento King guard Bobby Jackson and draft rights to Donte Green.

From the looks of things it seems like the Maloof brothers wanted this guy out of town as quickly as possible because besides a somewhat promising prospect in Donte Green the Kings really didn't improve at all and the Houston Rockets may have gotten the final piece to the puzzle in order to become a legit title contender and a major player in the Western Conference once again.

Ron Artest's name has been thrown around in NBA trade rumors for years now with speculation of the defensive specialist going to the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and damn near every team in the league, but not once did any of us hear that Houston was a even a possibility.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, who looked to be Artest's next destination and perfect fit with friend Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum assuming they shipped out Lamar Odom, the Lakers missed out on a perfect opportunity to upgrade and get the defensive minded player they are in need of after exposing their defensive weakness in the last season's NBA finals against the Boston Celtics.

With Artest in the lineup for Houston, the Rockets will have a very talented team on both sides of the floor. The addition of Artest will make an already good defense into a great defense with Shane Battier (if they can fit him in the starting five), Yao Ming, Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest the Rockets will be a force to be reckoned with and give the Los Angeles Lakers a run for their money for the distinction of best in the west.