In today’s edition of the NBA At 2: Is Ron Artest leaving L.A. for Finland?…Outstanding options…Decision time on Greg Oden near…NBA Chats.

Ron Artest in Finland? There is a report today from Ball in Europe and a Finnish newspaper that Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest – or Metta World Peace, if you like – is heading to Finland to play ball when the lockout hits.

Artest has three years and $21.8 million left on his contract with the Lakers.

The story goes Artest will join new team LoKoKo Loimaa and the story has been confirmed by their director, Aleksi Valavuori.

“We have sorted things out and I can happily confirm that Artest will arrive in Finland,” Valavuori states in the interview.

There are some minor details to point out here. First, Artest is under contract with the Lakers, whether there is a lockout or not. In order to play for another team that team would have to obtain clearance from FIBA, the sport’s international governing body, to sign Artest to a contract. FIBA rules state a member cannot sign a player to a contract while said player is under contract to another member.

The lockout may change their thinking, but up until now it’s been assumed FIBA would stick to their original rules.

Should Artest get hurt, the Lakers would have grounds to simply void the rest of his contract. It’s also worth noting Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen have both played in the Finnish league, though for both it was after their NBA careers were over.

This could all also be a simple PR move, because it seems unlikely FIBA would change its mind. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Wait, it WAS a publicity stunt? We’re shocked! Artest’s agent, David Bauman, said there is no truth to this story. Actually, that took a pretty long while to happen…

Outstanding Options: With only two and a half days left in the month of June there are still some outstanding contract options that need addressing. Team options, player options, and early termination options need to be decided upon by June 30th. For player and team options, doing nothing makes the player an unrestricted free agent. For early termination options, doing nothing keeps the player under contract.

Here’s the list:

Team Options
Pooh Jeter, Sacramento Kings – $0.8 million
C.J. Miles, Utah Jazz – $3.7 million

Jeter would seem to be a nice fit to remain with the Kings with Beno Udrih now in Milwaukee – he’s the only true point guard on the roster. As for Miles, the Jazz haven’t yet made a decision. Adding Alec Burks on draft night may make this decision easier.

Player Options
Louis Amundson, Golden State Warriors – $2.4 million
Brian Cook, L.A. Clippers – $1.3 million
Shannon Brown, L.A. Lakers – $2.4 million
Eddie House, Miami HEAT – $1.4 million
James Jones, Miami HEAT – $1.3 million

House and Jones are both expected to exercise their options by the HEAT, as is Amundson with the Warriors. Brown is expected to decline the option.

Early Termination Options
Nene, Denver Nuggets – $11.6 million
Charlie Bell, Golden State Warriors – $4.1 million
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – $21.2 million

{AUTHOR_BOX}Bell won’t opt out – there is no way he gets that money anywhere else, especially under a new CBA. Duncan has indicated he will not exercise the option (surprise). Nene is the only real question mark. He wants to stay with the Nuggets who have a three-year extension on the table. Signing that by midnight on June 30th would have him with Denver for the next four years (it gets added to next season). If Nene does invoke the ETO, he will become the biggest name of the 2011 free agent market, whenever it opens.

Decision Time on Oden: Like with all 29 other NBA teams, the Portland Trail Blazers have until midnight on June 30th to decide whether or not to issue Qualifying Offers to their eligible prospective free agents. For them, that means point guard Patty Mills and center Greg Oden.

While the team says they have a plan they like, they will continue to debate it internally. Generally it seems like it doesn’t make too much sense to issue a QO to Mills after drafting Nolan Smith last week. Once the lockout is over (should it happen) and the Blazers sign Nolan Smith, they will have six guards under guaranteed contracts: Smith, Raymond Felton, Armon Johnson, Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews, and Brandon Roy.

Last year the Blazers issued a QO to Mills almost as an afterthought and were a tiny bit surprised when he signed it.

With Oden the decision carries more weight. Usually deciding what to do with a previous #1 overall pick is a no-brainer, but his injury history would give any team pause. Plus, Oden’s QO would be for $8.8 million, much more than Mills’ relatively insignificant $1.1 million. The Blazers are already at a cap figure of $73.4 million for 2011-12, even before Smith’s contract is added, which under this season’s CBA would put them well into luxury tax territory. If Oden signed the $8.8 million QO, Portland would have a payroll second only to the L.A. Lakers.

Even if Portland works out a contract with Oden – which issuing the QO still would allow them to do once the new CBA is approved, provided restricted free agency still exists – they could end up ahead of the Orlando Magic with the second-highest amount of commitments in the league.

All along indications have been the Blazers would make Oden a restricted free agent and that is still, pending a drastic change in approach, the most likely outcome.

Should the Blazers make Oden a restricted free agent? Or should they allow him to hit unrestricted free agency? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

NBA Chats: Luke Byrnes takes your questions at 2pm Eastern and later Eric Pincus will give you his take at 4pm Eastern. Here are all the upcoming chats and all the chat wraps.