Ron Artest The Only Other Option I Had Was Greece I Really Wanted To Go To Greece But When The Lakers Called I Kind Of Forgot About Greece

Wow. Ron Artest is one crazy dude. It’s getting to the point where it’s hard to keep up with all the zany things he says on the air. He’s certainly been one of the most regularly colorful athletes we’ve posted about here on SRI.With the start of the NBA season just around the corner, let’s check in once more with Artest to hear what he has to say about his transition to LA so far this summer and preseason. Artest’s latest interview came on the Dan Patrick Show where he talked to DP about his desire to play in Greece, how he’s trying to just take Kobe’s lead and do less talking, and how the Lakers could have had him for just a dollar. Take a listen.

On how it feels to put on a Lakers uniform:

“It feels great. Just the history behind the Lakers you know – just putting that uniform on, I can’t wait to do it…”

On how close he was to signing with the Cavaliers:

“Wow it feels like it was just yesterday. Seems like it was just yesterday. It was a great experience, I guess it was really, really close…I don’t want to get too deep in to the conversation because I didn’t talk to LeBron about this…but it was a really cool conversation. It was cool to speak to LeBron about opponents. It’s good to speak to your colleague every now and then. That was just the reason that we spoke, seeing if we were going to play with each other. But my agent said it was the first team to call, I didn’t know who wanted me at the time or what the other organizations were thinking at that time. You know, I didn’t think the Lakers were interested and they called at 12:01 and I was like wow, the Lakers called. So we didn’t even really think about talking to other teams. The only other option I had was Greece. I really wanted to go to Greece but when the Lakers called, I kind of forgot about Greece.”

On why he was interested in playing in Greece:

“That was like one of my first options. I really wanted to go to Greece and my other option of course was Houston. But I’m not really sure what happened with Houston. Because I went to Greece like seven years ago, I got a couple friends out there and I knew I’d like the culture and kind of grew attached to Greece and always wanted to play there.”

After he learned that Los Angeles was interested, Artest was asked by DP what kind of negotiations went on between him and the team:

“They could have got me for a dollar if they really wanted to.”

On if he thinks the Lakers are in good shape to win a Championship:

“You know, every team I played on always wanted to win. I always felt we’d win. I’m always confident – I could play with three old ladies and I’d feel I’m going to win, you know. I’m always confident, it won’t change. The only thing that will change is when I’m speaking about that type of predictions and all that stuff, I kind of follow Kobe’s lead because you know when you’re playing with the greatest, you kind of want to follow the greatest’s lead. So when I’m playing with the greatest, I always wait to see what he’s going to say rather than me just going out and saying things when I’m not really the captain of this team. So of course that’s the number one goal. You know, it’s pretty easy because whatever is Kobe’s number one goal, that’s my goal. And it’s pretty easy, I don’t have to force it…There’s not a conflict of interest between organization, coach and player. Everybody’s on the same page so it’s a real easy adjustment.”