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I'm going to miss you, Crazy Pills

Dear RonRon,

I'm gonna miss you.  I admit, I'm a little weepy right now.  You were everything we asked for when we traded Donte Greene and a draft pick to get you last summer.  We always knew it might be a short-term relationship given that you were in a contract year.  We didn't care.  Nor do I feel cheated today.  It was worth the risk.  And I fully believe that risk paid off in spades.

You helped get the Rockets to the second round this year.  Which for Yao Ming and others had to seem like a myth until they actually got there.  (Tracy McGrady... still a non-believer.)  You brought an aggressiveness and a mindset to Houston that had been lacking for more than a decade.  No one bullies the Rockets anymore.

So, thank you, Ron Artest.  I truly mean it.

I do not begrudge you in your decision to join Kobe and the Lakers.  It makes perfect sense.  Yao and T-Mac probably won't be suiting up in 2010.  The Rockets are rebuilding, whether they want to admit it publicly or not.  I'm okay with all of this.  Which is why I understand that you had to do what is best for you, Ron.  I absolutely do understand.  And I wish you nothing but the best in Los Angeles. 

Though, this does make this picture seem a little weird now:

Happy trails to you, Crazy Pills.  And good luck.  You're going to need it.

(I can't wait to see what motivational book(s) Phil Jackson gives to Artest... )