Kings President of Basketball Operations, Geoff Petrie gave a press conference Wednesday afternoon in which he addressed the Ron Artest - Peja Stojakovic deal, consumated only hours earlier. Here's what he had to say:

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“In regards to Peja, I can’t thank him enough. He’ll always be a beloved member of this team and organization. We wish him the very best. In acquiring Ron, it’s clear to everybody that the team the team needed some adjustments. Ron gives us a greater level of physical presence out on the floor and increases our versatility. At this point he’s excited about coming and realizes he wants to get back out on the floor and start playing basketball. If everything works out, we hope he’ll play in Boston.”

Are you concerned about Artest’s history?
“You can’t deny the history there. But for us, like with all of our players, were starting from this point forward. He’s an extremely talented player. Some players have succeeded and had their very best years here, and we hope the same thing will happen with Ron. He’s going to have a chance to come in here with open arms.”

Regarding his conversation with Ron Artest:
“He came to the realization that he wanted to start playing. He has a great opportunity here. I talked to him twice today and he was asking about other players on the team and was looking forward to joining them and getting back to playing.”

On his relationship with Peja:
“I’m really proud of Peja actually. There’s a sense of loss here. He’s a great professional. He developed into a three-time All-Star here, and played on some of the best teams this franchise has ever had.”

Talking in more detail about Artest’s talents:
“Ron has been one of the best defensive players in the league for a long time. He can play three or four different positions at both ends of the floor, and has a physical presence out on the floor that impacts a game. He can win a game at either end of the floor and he’s still only 26 years old, and as you all know he hasn’t played much in the last year and I know right now he’s really excited to get back out there. I can assume that playing basketball is one of those things that he gets the most enjoyment out of in life and he’s been away from it for quite awhile and he’s really ready to get back.”

Does Artest give the Kings a shot at the postseason this year?
“Well, we’ll find out. We’re not out of the playoff race. We are in a really tough spot right now. We need to win games and we have a lot of road games still in front of us where we’re going to have to win some games. We’ll see how quickly Ron can get acclimated and up to speed.”

Will the team handle Artest any differently now that he’s a King?
“Bill Russell once said you don’t handle people, you handle horses. We’re going to work with him and support him like every other player that’s ever worn a Kings uniform.”