The future of the Rockets could be in jeopardy after Yao publicly called out Ron Artest’s ability to be a team player. Sure, he has apologized to Ron Artest during a phone call to the soon be ex-King, but is it too little too late?
Yao called out Ron-Ron’s violent disruptive past, but he might have done irreversible damage to the Rocket-Artest relationship. Ron is an emotional player. Depending on his mood, he can be the answer for team success or the locker room cancer that divides a team. Do the Rockets have a dedicated team player in Artest, or a player who is waiting for the next ship to pick him up?
The Rockets had a chance to be championship contenders with the addition of the hard-nose play that Artest brings. But without his focus, he is a liability. If the latter is the case, than you can expect Houston to dump Artest after two seasons. The bummer is that by that time Ron will be pushing his prime and won’t be considered the difference maker for a championship-bound team.
Rockets fan better hope that Yao’s apology wasn’t lost in translation.
