Empty the Bench

ESPN is reporting that Ron Artest, the deeply troubled small forward of the Sacramento Kings, could retire after this season. Despite being one of the most talented and physically gifted players in the NBA, Artest’s off-court and emotional problems have ‘dogged’ him his entire career (Get it? It’s funny because he abuses dogs). Ron only spilled the beans to several teammates who have remained anonymous, but word leaked to media outlets over the weekend. Artest will not comment on the story, saying, “We can talk about it after [the] playoffs.”

The possibility of the eight-year veteran walking away from the Kings after the season to focus on family life is also raised at hiphopgame.com, where Artest has been posting journal entries this season.

But it should be noted that this isn’t the first time he’s brought up retirement. Before and after his 73-game suspension with Indiana during the 2004-05 season, Artest suggested numerous times publicly that he could be content without the NBA in his life. Few league observers believed him then, and similar skepticism is bound to greet his latest sentiments.

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In an interview with ESPN.com in November 2004, just one week before the melee at The Palace of Auburn Hills that led to the longest suspension in NBA history, Artest raised and then shot down the idea of early retirement in the same conversation.

“If I think I want to retire, it doesn’t make me crazy,” Artest said at the time. “What’s so crazy about being home with your family? I don’t see anything so crazy about that. If people think that’s crazy, maybe they don’t know what it’s like to be with their family. Family is more important than money.”

But then he added: “I really — before I retire — I want to win a championship. I want to reach at least one of the things Michael Jordan reached.”

Unless he can win that title, Artest will probably be remembered as the main instigator in that brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers which ended his 2004 NBA season and forced David Stern to launch a massive PR campaign in its wake. The retirement talk comes a month after his recent domestic violence charges and two months after Artest faced legal troubles for animal abuse complaints involving several of his dogs, which he flippantly responded to by saying, “I have a new professional doggy watcher from out of state that will help me train my dogs better. I’m horrible at that.” Apparently, he’s also pretty horrible at romance, rapping and keeping secrets.