World Peace has love for Chicago long after Bulls tenure originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
When Metta World Peace, who then went by the name Ron Artest, first learned he was being traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Indiana Pacers in February 2002, his first emotion was sadness.
Defying a team order, he participated in a Bulls shootaround that morning in Miami, relishing his last moments in the uniform of the team that drafted him 16th overall in 1999 — and that he, as a Michael Jordan fan, grew up revering.
Then, he hurled his jersey in frustration.
"Not because I didn't like the Bulls," World Peace, who is promoting a new show called "The Pitch," said while describing that scene on the latest episode of the Bulls Talk Podcast. "That was a failure, that was a total failure. I should've been a Bulls for 10 years."
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Now more than two decades removed from a turbulent stint in Chicago, World Peace has perspective on why things did not work out. A young man then, and in a losing environment for the first time in his basketball life, he admits he partied too much and did not take his professional responsibilities seriously enough.
"We were losing, and I was also partying a lot," he said. "I had a great time in Chicago, but I was not a professional in Chicago. I was on vacation for two-and-a-half years in Chicago."
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But that does not mean all was for naught.
Although World Peace's years with the Bulls were some of the leanest in the organization's history, he established himself as a menace at the defensive end of the court, racking up a franchise record 271 steals in his first two seasons, and learned the ins and outs of the triangle offense, which he would use during a successful stint with the Lakers, featuring an NBA title in 2010, later in his career.
And so he still has love for the city and organization.
"They had to get rid of me," he said, "but I do love Chicago."
For more on World Peace's NBA career, Bulls tenure and lessons learned in Los Angeles, check out the full interview here.