The Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat are expected to be among the teams interested in obtaining Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings once the NBA’s dead period ends July 9. Kings general manager Geoff Petrie figures to receive plenty of calls about Artest and his expiring $7.4 millon contract, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. No reason to think Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak won’t call, too.

Two days, two conspiracy theories.
First, with the Clippers having reached an agreement with Baron Davis, their next move is to strike a deal with Elton Brand.
If so, that will reinforce speculation that Davis opted out of his deal with Golden State because he already had an agreement to sign with the Clippers, which would be against the rules. Brand opted out of his deal with the Clippers because it would clear salary cap space for the team to do a deal with Davis. Brand could then re-sign with the Clippers, joining Davis and giving the franchise a marquee one-two punch.
Second, Ron Artest decided against opting out of his contract with Sacramento on Monday, then said Tuesday he might have made a mistake and wished he had decided to become a free agent.
Now, he can play the part of the disgruntled employee all summer and force the Kings to trade him to the Lakers, where he can play for a title contender and give his new team the physical presence they lacked during their loss to Boston in the NBA Finals.
For the record, there’s no actual evidence for either theory. Just plain old speculation.

The Lakers are pursuing Marcelus Kemp, a shooting guard from the University of Nevada. Kemp’s agent, John Grieg, told a Reno newspaper he expected a deal to be struck soon.
Kemp averaged 20 points as a senior last season at Nevada. He also was a two-time all-Western Athletic Conference first team selection. He was not drafted, but can sign with the Lakers as a free agent once the dead period ends after July 9.
Here’s one possible scenario: The Lakers will sign Kemp and then put him on their summer league team July 11. If all goes well in Las Vegas, then they would bring him to training camp in October. It’s the same thing they did with Coby Karl after signing him as a free agent out of Boise State last summer.

Andrew Bynum suggested a couple of weeks ago he might be willing to re-sign with the Lakers for less than a max, 5-year, $80 million contract. Hold on just one minute says his agent, David Lee:

Two events stand out in the first hours of free agency.
First, Golden State’s Baron Davis opts out of the final season of his deal, which prompts the question: Will the Clippers go after the former UCLA standout? Signing Davis certainly would be a sign that the Clippers are serious about winning. It might also persuade Elton Brand to sign a long-term deal with the Clippers. Brand opted out of the final season of his deal with the Clippers, but is expected to re-sign with the team.
Second, Sacramento’s Ron Artest decides to stick with the Kings for the final season of his deal (worth almost $8 million). Question: Does that mean there’s now zero chance he’ll end up with the Lakers? The Lakers sure could have used his muscle in the Finals against Boston. He was a visable presence in the arenas during the Finals, openly rooting for the Lakers and his longtime friend Lamar Odom. Artest and Odom played together in the famed AAU program at Riverside Church in New York as young men.

Elliot has a nice story laying out the Lakers priorities for this offseason. Basically, the plan is to get Sasha and Ronny back into the fold as soon as possible, and cross their fingers no other team offers them big money.

As for the rest of the free agent scene, nbadraft.net has a nice primer. Things obviously got a lot more exciting Monday night with Baron Davis and Elton Brand opted out of the final year of their contracts. But since only Memphis, Philly and the Clips have cap-space, I’d expect the fireworks to be at a minimum.

Two guys that may not seem like big names, but could end up playing vital roles for a contender next year are: Quinton Ross of the Clippers and Mickael Pietrus of the Warriors. Both are young, athletic, lock-down perimeter defenders made all the more popular by the exploits of guys like James Posey and Bruce Bowen in recent years.