Soap role for Artest?

LA Lakers star Artest has come out and told the Los Angeles Times that he is "definitely going to play for the Jets" despite the club having little money to pay the player.

Artest, who signed a five year-contract worth $33 million back in 2009, would be free to play in Europe because the NBA is currently experiencing a 'lockout' due to a union dispute between players and owners which will almost certainly see some, and possibly all, of the 2011/2012 season cancelled.

Artest has now revealed that the Jets are looking into getting him a role on a TV show, and that it would be an opportunity he would jump at.

"Hands down. When they told me I had the opportunity and asked if I wanted to do a soap opera, I said, 'Of course, man'," he told the LA Times

"I'm not going to run away. When I was a kid, I wanted to be on TV. Why would I run away from being on TV?"

The most likely soap for Artest to appear in would appear to be Hollyoaks which is set in a fictional suburb of Chester and filmed in nearby Liverpool.

The other regional option would be the Manchester based Coronation Street, although their more traditional storylines and filming style would seem to be less of a fit for the controversial 6' 7" star who was once banned for 86 matches for charging into the crowd during a game, and who only last month filed a petition in L.A. County Superior Court to change his name to 'Metta World Peace.'

Artest, who was named NBA defensive player of the year in 2004, also revealed that he doesn't plan to spend the entire season in the UK because he also wants to have a spell playing in Finland.

"One reason I want to go to Finland is it's the cleanest country in the world," Artest said.

"I want to experience that. I'm amazed by that. ... That's the future. I think I want to come back to America with that experience. I want to tell everyone my experience about how they're treating the Earth. It's very important to me."