Interesting Ron Artest Quote

[Evilmav2]

The Pacers would have won the championship last year if Jamison Brewer had been running the point? I wonder what Jamaal Tinsley and Anthony Johnson think about Artest's comments?


Brewer back in camp

Jamison Brewer joined the Pacers' rookie/free agent camp Tuesday and will play on the summer league team in Salt Lake City later this week.

A free agent, he is hoping to secure not only a roster spot but also playing time. The 23-year-old point guard has played in 36 games in three seasons and spent much of last season on the injured list.

"I was happy to be part of something special last year," he said. "I just wish I was a bigger part of it. I think it's my time now. I just have to gain the confidence of the coaches, I guess."

Brewer's performance this summer could determine whether he lands a contract from the Pacers or another NBA team.

"People don't know about me, so I have to prove myself," he said. "Summer league is definitely important for me."

Brewer might want to consider hiring teammate Ron Artest to represent him. Artest, who began practicing with the camp participants Monday evening to stay in shape, provides persistent endorsements of Brewer.

"If Jamison would have played (in the playoffs), we would have won the championship this year," Artest said Tuesday. "Hopefully, next year Jamison plays more. I'll put my whole contract up on Jamison.

"We didn't have a point guard who really gets after it on defense. He shut down everybody."


Call Star reporter Mark Montieth at (317) 444-6406.

[NBAGnome]

That is interesting, i saw him play a few times. But their coach, Rick Carlisle, hes pretty strict about how his team plays. So he had him pretty much bringing up the ball and handing it off, so i didn't really notice him a whole lot, he didn't turn the ball over, but he didn't do much else either on the offensive end.

Ron Artest is a silly guy though, that wouldn't of won them the championship =P it was Hamilton that tore up the Pacers. But, who knows, maybe the guy is worth playing.

[MavKikiNYC]

Ron Artest is a silly guy though, that wouldn't of won them the championship =P it was Hamilton that tore up the Pacers

Who was guarding Hamilton?

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Reggie Miller for the most part, though Artest got on him in spurts.

[mavsman55]

He should be complaining about Miller's defense, not Tinsley's. As far as I know (knew), Tinsley played decent D.

[Dirkenstien]

Artest also picked the Lakers to win the finals when they were down 3-1.

[EricaLubarsky]

Those are pretty darn hurtful words.

[birdsanctuary]

Artest is just trying to piss off Bird and Carlyle, in an effort to force them to trade him!


BTW I can't quite tell from the photo, but is that Tinsley's jockstrap in his mouth?

[endtroducing]

another auburn guy everyone seems to have missed the boat on...

[#41]

0 points, 0-for-7, 8 turnovers, 5 assists, 6 rebounds in a summer league game........ great leader u got, Pacers...

[Evilmav2]

The Jamison Brewer summer league experiment is an admitted disaster

Free agent's strategy to hold out on Pacers fails when he plays poorly in summer league.

By Sekou Smith
sekou.smith@indystar.com
July 25, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Jamison Brewer summer league experiment was an admitted disaster, to say the least.

Brewer, by his own account, played "horribly" throughout the Indiana Pacers' six-game stint at the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Charged with running the team and showing how three years of hard work as a Pacers reserve has benefited his game, Brewer failed to make his mark here.

"I don't believe in excuses, that's not me. I just didn't play well. I never got into a rhythm," Brewer said. "I don't know if it was the style of ball we were playing or the type of team we had or what. I just couldn't get it going at all."

Now comes the hard part for the free agent point guard.

Brewer declined to sign an offer sheet extended by the Pacers on July 1. He and his agent, Philadelphia-based Leon Rose, decided Brewer should wait and weigh his options before making a decision.

The Pacers have since rescinded the offer, leaving Brewer without a guaranteed contract as he heads into his fourth season.

"I really don't know what happens now," said Brewer, who would have earned about $875,000 had he signed. "But it'll be their loss if things don't work out and I end up somewhere else.

"Don't get me wrong, I love playing for Indiana. I love the program, the fellas, the city and everything. I've been with Indiana for three years, so it won't be hard feelings either way. I've still got love for them."

Whether the Pacers reciprocate that love after Brewer's performance here is the $875,000 question.

Brewer tied for the Revue lead in assists (5.0), but he also averaged 5.0 turnovers per game. He had single-game highs of eight in both categories. He shot 22 percent (8-of-37), including 1-of-12 from beyond the 3-point line.

He never scored more than five points in a game and never appeared to be on the same page as the coaching staff.

"I think maybe in his mind he felt he had to come here and dominate," Pacers assistant coach Dan Burke said. "I think he thought he would come out here and it would be easy for him. We were looking for him to run the team and organize the team, and he was worrying about getting play calls for him. And that's not what it was about."

Pacers president Larry Bird and coach Rick Carlisle witnessed most of Brewer's struggles. They left before Saturday's Revue finale, an 84-70 loss to Chicago.

"Jamison hadn't played in what, a couple of years?" Bird said after the Pacers game Thursday. "This is the first time he's played in games in a while. I thought it was very critical for him to come out here and show us what he can do. And quite frankly, he struggled."

Brewer knows his play didn't help his cause.

"I'm definitely not happy, man," Brewer said. "But if they want to make a decision based on this, that's their loss. This summer league doesn't show what I can do. I'm better than I showed out here."

But is Brewer good enough to be the third player in the Pacers' point guard rotation? With Jamaal Tinsley and Anthony Johnson already penciled in, there's room and a need for at least one more. Rashad Wright, the Pacers' second-round pick in last month's draft, is in the mix. Brewer is too, depending on what happens in the coming weeks.

Neither Bird nor Carlisle would rule out carrying four point guards again next season.

"Jamison told me after the season he'd given the Pacers three years and he really loves the guys and the city, but he wants to have an opportunity to get on the floor and play if somebody goes down, and we can't give that to him right now," Bird said. "So that's why we had to take a look at him. That's why we wanted him here."

Brewer, however, has made it clear he has no desire to be the fourth point guard again.

"Jamison said he didn't want to be on the bench in street clothes anymore if he didn't make the top three," Bird said. "So unless he changes his mind, that makes things a little difficult for us. We'll have to go out and find someone else if we do go with four."
__________________

[sike]

Artest = kook

I wonder if anyone took him up on that whole "I'll put my whole contract up on Jamison." thing....