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Ron on way out? Dec. 13: Pacers star Ron Artest talks about his desire for a trade, and president/CEO Donnie Walsh and Jermain O'Neal weigh in.

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James appreciated Artest’s interest. Artest shut him down in Indiana’s 98-76 win on Thanksgiving Day.

“You’ve got to be flattered because he knows we’re an up and coming team,” James said. “Any team in this league could use a guy like Ron Artest.”

Jackson said the Pacers didn’t foresee Artest’s desire to leave.

“I think it shocked us all,” Jackson said. “Ron’s his own man. You really can’t tell what’s going through his mind ... I’ll see him down the line, I’ll still give him a hug and still tell him he’s my boy.”

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said the Pacers will recover, in part because they got used to playing without him last season.

“You’re never going to be as good a team in terms of manpower without a guy like Ron Artest,” he said, “but the reality right now is we don’t have him. We’ve been through situations where we had to adjust before and we’ll do it again.”

O’Neal said he expects the Pacers to remain among the league’s elite. The Pacers (12-7) have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

“You’re putting too much emphasis on this situation,” O’Neal told reporters. “Our team is not going to falter. We’re not going to fall into a lottery team. We’re going to keep winning.”

The Pacers now will need more from their newest players, guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and forward Danny Granger.

Jasikevicius, a 29-year-old rookie guard from Lithuania, has averaged 9.4 points and 2.9 assists. He is among the league’s leaders in free-throw percentage and shoots 48 percent from 3-point range.

Carlisle said Granger, the 17th pick in the draft, will be expected to grow up quickly. His 15 minutes per game will increase.

“Right now, he’s a guy who’s going to have to step to the forefront,” Carlisle said. “It’ll be an opportunity for him, and we’re counting on him to come through for us.”

Artest has missed the last two games with a sore right wrist. The Pacers defeated Washington 111-87 and Memphis 80-66 last week without him.

Walsh said the fact that Artest went public before talking to management might scare some teams off.

“I think Ronnie is a guy who acts first and thinks later,” Walsh said. “If he were to do it over again, he might do it differently.”

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