Final. Official. Approved.

Really.

After a 24-hour microcosm of their four-year experience with the on-again, off-again Ron Artest, the Pacers completed a deal sending the talented but controversial forward to Sacramento in exchange for Peja Stojakovic, one of the most prolific shooters in the game.

"It was on and off, but I think Ronnie wants to get back in and play," said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. "He's happy that he's going to get an opportunity to get back in the league and do what he does best, and that's play basketball."

And the Pacers were happy they were able to move past the lingering distraction caused by the Artest saga by acquiring a gifted player that can step right into the starter's role at small forward.

"He's got great length and obviously he's one of the best shooters in the league," Bird said. "He rebounds pretty well for his size. He gives us another dimension from the outside so hopefully that'll open it up for our big guys down a little more than we have."

Stojakovic, 28, is averaging 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds and shooting 39.7 percent from the 3-point line this season. Artest, 26, was averaging 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.63 steals in 16 starts with the Pacers before making a public trade demand in early December, prompting the club to place him on the inactive list.

"I did think this was a good trade for Ronnie," said Pacers CEO and President Donnie Walsh. "It's a great franchise, it's a great place to live for him and he fits in with their team. If you look at the West, I think this guy can have a gigantic impact on the standings. … There were other deals we were looking at. We felt, for where our team was right now, this was the best."

The teams appeared to have a deal struck Tuesday but, just before a late-afternoon conference call with the NBA that would've finalized the trade, Artest's agent issued a statement indicating his client did not want to play in Sacramento. That appeared to kill the trade until Artest met with Walsh and Bird in their Conseco Fieldhouse offices Wednesday morning.

Whatever was said behind closed doors breathed life back into the deal.

"We just talked about the fact there was a trade on the line, apparently something happened and that we felt it was a good trade for him and a good trade for the franchise," said Walsh. "That was kind of the extent of the conversation. Ronnie didn't really say he wouldn't go there to me. In fact, he said the opposite. He said he'd go there and play and try to win games for them. … It wasn't a threatening type of conversation, but I certainly did mention there could be legal ramifications to this. "

Artest said he needed to clarify his intentions, that he was anxious to rejoin the ranks of active NBA players and held no ill will toward the Pacers.

"I'm willing to play anywhere," Artest told Indianapolis television station WTHR. "I'm not going to be some hard guy to deal with and say I don't want to play there, you know? … It was a good conversation. It was a little bit emotional, just to think what you've been through with Donnie Walsh, who's such a personable person. He treats everybody like family. It was a tough day, but we both left on good terms, which is pretty cool."

After meeting with Walsh and Bird, Artest spoke with Kings ownership and management, allaying their concerns about the deal. Once the Kings were convinced, the final hurdle was cleared.

"Ron Artest is going to bring a dimension to this team that we haven't had in a long time, maybe since I've been in Sacramento, in terms of his defensive abilities, his presence on the court, his versatility, his size and strength," said Geoff Petrie, the Kings' President of Basketball Operations. "Given where we are at this point of the season, we think he'll come in here and really make an impact."

Both teams are absorbing risk. Sacramento is gambling Artest can move beyond his troubled, sometimes violent past. The Pacers, while acquiring a player that fills obvious needs this season, understand Stojakovic could choose to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer.

"We'll worry about that when we get there," said Bird. "Right now we want to get him in here, get him acclimated to our system and what we're trying to do with this team. After the summer, we'll talk about that, but right now it's not a real big concern of ours."

Stojakovic, who returned to Sacramento to attend to his family's needs in the aftermath of the deal, was not available for comment. He and his fiancée are soon expecting their second child. Though the veteran who led Yugoslavia to the 2002 World Basketball Championship in Indianapolis was recently quoted in the Sacramento Bee as saying he "would love to play for the Kings for the rest of my career," he indicated his satisfaction with the trade to Pacers management. He previously had expressed dissatisfaction with the Kings, asking for a trade prior to last season.

"He seemed very happy to us," Bird said. "He's looking forward to getting here with his family and get settled in and go from there. We're looking forward to meeting him and introducing him to our players."

One of the most productive players in Kings history, Stojakovic posted career averages of 18.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in Sacramento. The 14th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, he joined the team for the 1998 season after playing two seasons in Greece. Stojakovic was named an NBA All-Star three times in his seven-and-a-half seasons in Sacramento, becoming the first player since Mark Price in 1993 and 1994 to win back-to-back 1 800 CALL ATT Shootouts (2002 & 2003). He was voted to the All-NBA Second-Team following his finest statistical campaign in 2002-03 in which he averaged a career highs of 24.2 points and 6.3 rebounds. He helped the Kings reach the NBA Playoffs in each of his seven-plus years in Sacramento after the club advanced to the postseason only once during the Sacramento-era prior to his arrival