Ron Artest Stays Relevant, Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cast

If the photo of a man hiding his face, standing 6’7” and holding a pair of Purple and Gold kicks over his shoulder while entering a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ rehearsal weren’t enough of a clue, we have official confirmation of Ron Artest joining the cast of ABC’s hit show.

Now before we delve into the whole issue of whether or not this is a good idea for the man destined to be Metta World Peace once he settles a few parking tickets, let’s look at the facts.

Either Ron Ron is making a quick transition to his post-hoops career (ala Luke Walton) or he knows something about the lockout the general public doesn’t.

The positive perspective is that Artest can’t possibly Dance in Los Angeles and hoop in Europe. Therefore one could argue Artest is keeping his commitments local in order to be ready to go once the lockout is lifted. That’s the glass is half full argument.

On the glass only has a sip left side, one could debate that this is clear sign of either Ron’s indifference to his basketball obligations or that he envisions the lockout lasting well into the regular season. Without knowing all the details of the Dancing production schedule it is uncertain how this could affect Artest’s commitment to the Lake Show.

While the dancing competition has always featured pro athletes, none of them have ever learned the tango while their respective sport is being played. If the NBA season goes off according to plan then Ron Ron would be the first.

That doesn’t bode well for Mike Brown. If the master of manipulation, Phil Jackson, had a hard time keeping Ron focused then how will Brown handle his volatile star?

We’ll just have to wait and see. These are exactly the opportunities Ron sought once he moved to Los Angeles. If he’s willing to take relative pennies to play in England with hope of landing a role in a soap opera then it is no secret where his priorities lie these days. Not saying that Artest has finally gone full-time Hollywood but he certainly isn’t making much of a case for being a committed Laker at the moment.