One week after his show of defiance, Ron Artest's attitude has shifted toward compliance.
The Indiana Pacers forward expanded on his desire to remain with the team Sunday in a telephone interview, claiming he "made a big mistake" by asking to be traded.
Whether Artest can rebuild a bridge to the franchise remains to be seen, but he has begun the effort. He talked with CEO Donnie Walsh, who traded for him in February 2002, and spoke with Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal. Artest called other players as well but wasn't able to reach them, and planned to call coach Rick Carlisle on Sunday night.
Some of Artest's teammates, most notably O'Neal, have been critical. Artest said he doesn't blame them.
"Under the circumstances, I'd be pretty mad at me, too," he said. "I'm mad at myself anyway. Going about things like I did, it's not easy to recover.
"But I'd love to play for the Pacers' organization right now."
O'Neal, the acknowledged leader among the players, isn't interested.
"We talked as a team and we feel like we need to move on," O'Neal said. "As I've been saying, the business relationship is over."