Remember when Walsh traded All-Star Dale Davis for the untested O'Neal in 2000? Hidden somewhere on an NBA roster -- it might be Bynum, it might be somebody else -- is a young talent whom Walsh and Bird believe could blossom into the next O'Neal. The Pacers may be able to acquire him by using Artest as bait, while trimming payroll along the way.

The Lakers need to be careful, however. If Artest wants out because he isn't becoming an All-Star scorer in Indiana, then how is he ever going to get enough shots playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Odom? But those fears would be mitigated by Artest's post-up game as well as his defensive role as the antidote to Manu Ginobili. Any team that dreams of getting past the Spurs needs to come up with someone to snuff out Ginobili -- and Artest is that someone, which explains why every NBA contender should consider taking a gamble on him.

Artest and Johnson to the Warriors for Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy

Murphy would provide the Pacers with a big young body who's tough, a solid rebounder and has range from outside. Murphy is a base-year player, so Dunleavy's contract would have to be included. The Pacers could try to trim payroll by unloading Dunleavy to a team that is under the cap.

Another potential trade with the Warriors would send Artest and Johnson to Golden State for Murphy, Mickael Pietrus and Calbert Cheaney. While that deal would help the Pacers on the court, it would also create more red ink on their payroll and thus create more pressure to trim salary.

Artest to the Clippers for Corey Maggette

If Indiana wants to trade talent for talent, then this could be their best deal. The Pacers would become a more dangerous team offensively by complementing O'Neal with Maggette (21.7 ppg), who is one of the most athletically-gifted small forwards in the league. Their defense wouldn't have to suffer, either: The Clippers currently have the No. 1 field-goal defense in the league with Maggette playing 34.0 minutes per game.

Making Artest especially attractive to owner Donald T. Sterling is his marriage of celebrity combined with relatively cheap salary. In future seasons Artest could turn out to be a disaster, but these are the Clippers: It's going to end disastrously for them anyway, so they might as well go for it this year knowing that the addition of Artest could elevate them to the No. 2 team in the West this season.

Artest to Orlando for the rights to Fran Vasquez

Other players would have to be involved -- and probably a third team as well -- because the Magic already have Grant Hill at small forward and would want to keep prodigy Dwight Howard as far away as possible from the influences of Artest. But a trade like this would enable Indiana to save money while acquiring a talent for the future in 6-foot-10 Vasquez, the No. 11 pick of the draft who chose to remain in Spain rather than sign with Orlando last summer. It so happens that Bird is scouting in Spain this week, though Walsh says he went there primarily to see several young prospects for the upcoming draft.

Artest and Johnson to the Hornets for P.J. Brown

If the Pacers decide to go for a championship now, then Brown could resolve two areas of need: He would provide help up front to O'Neal in the playoffs against Miami and Detroit, and he would serve as a soothing influence in the locker room for a team that desperately needs to calm down after years of Artest-induced histrionics. In all his years of playing for the Hornets, Brown was one of the few players who never griped in public -- even when the ownership of George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge created a lot to complain about.