An Inauspicious Start Indeed

This exchange is simply too good to be true. I love everything about it: the honesty, the passion, the stupidity (from both sides).

It's still just a "hand-shake" trade but it looks like Ron Artest, of Palace Arena fame, will be bringing his right-hook and ball stealing skills to Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets. But Yao, generally soft-spoken for a man of his size, had some strong (read priceless) opinions on the deal:

For some reason, I like (Artest). Because in the games we play against him, I
hate him. We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to
the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not
bad. I don't mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs
some time. There’s worry. Obviously,yes. We will think about it, of
course. Hopefully, he’s not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the
stands. I haven’t talked to Ron yet, so it’s hard to say. I have to find a
way to talk to him and see what we can do as a basketball team. He has a
history. But we know he is a physical player. He is a good player. He really can
help us. And Ron is on a contract year, too.

OK. So Yao is merely expressing reasonable reservations about bringing in a large and rather belligerent personality to his city. Artest didn’t quite see it that way. Here’s his eloquent and deeply intellectual response:

I understand what Yao said, but I’m still ghetto. That’s not going to change.
I’m never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black
players, but I don’t think he’s ever played with a black player that really
represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to
know me, he’ll understand what I’m about. If you go back to the brawl,
that’s a culture issue right there. Somebody was disrespecting me, so he’s got
to understand where I’m coming from. People that know me know that Ron Artest
never changed.

Sounds like a match made in heaven!