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| CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Ron Artest trade to Sacramento is off. The Pacers had reportedly agreed to deal the volatile forward to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, but Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said Tuesday night that it wasn't going to happen, after all. ADVERTISEMENT "There is no trade right now and there may not be a trade," Carlisle said before Indiana played the Cavaliers in Cleveland. "There's nothing to talk about because there is no trade." ESPN and The Indianapolis Star had reported earlier Tuesday that the deal was imminent, pending league approval. "Anything involving speculation and 'what's up' can be saved for another time," Carlisle said. "If there is a trade at some point, you'll hear about it." The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was deactivated in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history. Sacramento officials and coach Rick Adelman would not comment before the team played at Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and Stojakovic was not at the arena with the team. He was listed on the active roster, however. "He's got to be a little confused right now if they wanted to trade him," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said of Stojakovic, who had traveled with the team but stayed behind at the hotel in Philadelphia. Before the deal apparently broke down, Kings players were already talking about the trade as if it was a done deal. "Peja will be missed," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's been in Sacramento for a lot of years, but life goes on in the NBA. "We'll welcome Ron Artest with open arms and hope he'll be able to help us. You always hear about the situations he's been in and all the hype. Maybe this is the change he needs, to come into our system and flourish." Instead, the Pacers are still looking for a place to send Artest. AP Sports Writers Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report. |