Artest Begins the Long Road Back to the NBA

Ron Artest’s season of exile finally is over.

His long road back to the brink of NBA stardom, however, is only beginning.

That road began here, at the Minnesota summer league, where he played with rookies, unproven veterans and desperate journeymen, trying to get comfortable in a uniform in front of referees again.

It didn’t take long.

Less than a minute into his first game, the Indiana Pacers forward took a pass at the left elbow of the 3-point line, elevated and drilled the shot. It was as though he never left.

“Stopping on a dime and throwing it up and making it swish, that was cool,” he said, his eyes bright and his smile beaming.

The pure love of the game always has been there. Unfortunately for him, that love has been accompanied by a volatile temper that snaps in the blink of an eye and overshadows his considerable skills.

Despite being one of the best all-around players in the game -- able to shut down an opponent’s top scorer on defense and drop 30 points with a near limitless repertoire on offense -- Artest is known more for his boorish behavior.

Smashing high-definition television monitors, leading the league in flagrant fouls and asking for time off to rest from promoting an album on his record label will have that effect.

But it all came to a head on Nov. 19, when Artest charged into the stands in Detroit after a fan he thought hit him in the face with a cup. He exchanged punches with some fans, who relentlessly pelted Artest and his Pacers teammates with debris.

He lost 73 regular-season games, nearly $5 million in salary and the chance to pay back those Pistons fans in the playoffs.

Instead of sulking and pouting about his suspension, Artest went to work. He retained his linebacker’s physique and soft jumper despite not playing in a pro game for eight months, much to the amazement of center David Harrison.

“Every day he was in there working out like he was playing,” Harrison said. “That taught me a lot, just seeing him out there still working after everything. If they told me, ‘You’re out for the year,’ I don’t think you’d see me for a long time.”

Now he’s back. That much was evident by the dozens of media members who waited for Artest outside the locker room after a meaningless summer league game in the middle of July.

He knows he might never change the negative perceptions that surround him.

“I admire the kid,” team president Larry Bird said. “Not for what he did, but how he’s come back and he’s worked and he’s done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him.”

So has Artest induced his last headache? When talking about a player so unpredictable on and off the court, Bird knows not to make any promises.

“You never know,” Bird said. “I just know Ronnie missed the game so much. It’s the one thing in his life that he truly loves other than his family. Any time you have something taken away from you, you’re going to miss it. We’ll see how he reacts.”

And how opposing fans react to him.

“Even before everything happened, fans were always trying to get on me,” Artest said. “They know my history, they know my personality and they know my character, so they try to find ways to get under my skin, but we just have to go out there and play.”

He was greeted warmly last week. In a near-empty arena where even casual conversation was clearly audible, nary a smart-aleck remark was uttered.

“Fortunately, there was a bunch of people in the stands that respect the game,” he said in a not-so-subtle shot at the unruly Detroit fans. “That was the only thing. There was nothing I did different, just the people that were in the stands had respect for the game. That’s good.”

He expects that to be the case in most cities.

“I think you’ll only see problems in Detroit, Boston and Philly,” Artest said of the notoriously hostile cities. “Even when I went to L.A. for a Sparks game, half the crowd was like, ‘AR-TEST! AR-TEST!’ Everywhere I go, it’s cool. It’s not as bad as everybody thinks it is. It’s cool.”

For now, Artest isn’t worried about the fans. He’s not worried about commissioner David Stern watching his every move and he’s not even worried about facing endless questions about his behavior.

The only thing he’s worried about is fine-tuning his game. He said he actually is thankful for that long road that lies ahead.

One would think that after sitting out 90 percent of the season, no one would be more eager for next season to start than Artest.

“Nah, not really,” he said. “I still need to get better. I still have to get to the point where I want to be when the opener comes, so I’m not too eager for the season to start right now.”

He’s off to a good start. In five games at the summer league, he averaged 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, albeit against vastly inferior competition.

“I’m proud of him,” said Pacers assistant Dan Burke, who coached the summer league team. “I think he was chomping at the bit to get out there, but he kept his patience. Overall, he looked tremendous.”

And he exhibited some maturity and intellectual growth while being bombarded by questions from reporters, a gigantic leap from the confused youngster who was prone to incoherent rants in the past.

He bordered on the philosophical at times, particularly when asked how hard it was to have the game taken away from him last year.

“It wasn’t taken away. I just wasn’t able to play in the NBA,” he said. “The game is too big and too strong to be taken away from you. The game loves me and I love the game. No matter what happens, the game will always be with me.”