The Cheshire Jets are offering to help Lakers F Ron Artest "grow his off-court profile" in the U.K. as a means of enticing him to play with the British Basketball League club this fall "in the event of an extended NBA lockout," according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Jets Dir Peter Hawkins Thursday said that his team, in an "attempt to offset the monetary limitations it faces compared to clubs from bigger leagues in Europe, will try to get Artest prominent TV work in England, should he agree to join the Jets." Hawkins said, "Our commitment is to help raise Ron's profile in the UK in order to help him develop his music and movie career over here while playing basketball." A source said that one possibility is "trying to find Artest a role on a British soap opera." Artest's publicist, Courtney Barnes, said that Artest will be in the U.K. Aug. 18-23 and is "scheduled to meet with the Jets during his stay to discuss options outside of basketball available to him" (ESPN.com, 8/11). In L.A., Mark Medina reports Artest "declared his intention to play" for the Jets Thursday, "even though he doesn't have a contract finalized." Artest: "I'm definitely going to play for the Jets." The Jets' season begins Sept. 30, but Artest said that he "won't join the team until late November because he plans to appear in an unspecified number of exhibition games with the Loimaa Bisons, a professional basketball team in Finland, during one week in September." Artest added that he will "spend that week hosting an unspecified number of comedy shows and making appearances promoting various mental health charities." He said that he "will make between $1,500 to $2,500 a month playing for the Jets, although that's not definitive since the deal isn't finalized." Artest said his plan to play overseas "came from Twitter." Artest: "I had Glasgow Rocks (of the British Basketball League), they were Twittering me. Then I had the Jets. I just thought it was cool that this professional team is trying to get me" (LATIMES.com, 8/12).
