Pacers Agree It’s Time for Artest to Be Traded

Ron Artest wants to be traded, and the Indiana Pacers will try to accommodate the forward.

Artest, suspended for 73 games and the playoffs last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in American sports, said over the weekend that he wants out, his past haunts him in Indianapolis and the team would be better off without him.

Donnie Walsh, Pacer president and chief executive, said Monday that Artest’s desire to move on wasn’t the only factor involved.

“This is kind of the last straw of a lot of issues,” Walsh said in Indianapolis, “and it’s at the point where we should look for a trade.”

Artest, sidelined the last two games because of sore right wrist, remains on the roster but is inactive with pay for the rest of the week, Walsh said.

Forward Jermaine O’Neal wants to move on.

“I’m not going to answer any more questions about Ron Artest,” he said. “Ron doesn’t want to be here, so Ron doesn’t matter anymore.”

Artest leads the league in steals and is the Pacers’ second-leading scorer at 19.4 points a game.

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