BELEMASPORTTALK.COM

A message attributed to Artest — “THANKS A LOT HOUSTON I HAD A LOT OF FUN.” — appeared on Twitter late Wednesday. Artest’s agent, David Bauman, said that the message was sent by an imposter.
“That is not Ron’s account,” Bauman said. “That’s what happens with the so-called new media.”
Bauman had said on Tuesday that Artest’s “first choice” was to return to Houston. Although Bauman would not discuss anything about talks with general managers, he and the Rockets were not expected to begin negotiations until today at the earliest while the Rockets made their pursuit of Orlando center Marcin Gortat their first step in free agency.
No offers of any kind were expected to be exchanged either way before Bauman had more information about the market for Artest.
Artest averaged 17.1 points on 40.1 percent shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, initially coming off the bench when Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier were healthy but then picking up an increasingly important role throughout the season after McGrady was unable to come back from his knee problems.
The Rockets had traded last season’s first-round acquisition, Donte’ Greene, and this season’s first-round selection to get Artest.
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