It is safe to say that Ron Artest does not
watch "SportsCenter" or make a point of keeping up with his hometown basketball team, the Knicks. When asked his opinion yesterday of the trade involving Latrell Sprewell and Keith Van Horn, a bewildered Artest said that it was the first he had heard of it.

"Who'd he get traded to?" Artest asked reporters, referring to Sprewell.

After being briefed on last month's four-team trade that included Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minnesota, which acquired Sprewell, Artest, the rugged swingman for the Indiana Pacers, sized up the trade. Unlike many New Yorkers, especially those who have vented on talk radio, Artest spoke highly of Van Horn.

"I think he plays his game," Artest said when asked if Van Horn's reputation as a soft player was deserved. "He stays within the context of his game. He has so much talent that he could do much more if he just let it out a little bit. But he always plays his same type of game.

"Bottom line, he's effective. He hits open shots. He makes his layups. He'll dunk it on you if he has to. He rebounds the ball. He plays his game, and he's been playing the same way since he's been in the league. But he does have a lot of talent and if he'd just give it a little bit more, he'd be really unstoppable."

Artest lives in Indianapolis during the off-season, but he was at Madison Square Garden yesterday on behalf of the 11th All-Star Classic, an exhibition game to benefit Wheelchair Charities. The contest, which is also scheduled to feature the N.B.A. players Mark Jackson, Kenyon Martin, Jalen Rose, Tim Thomas, Speedy Claxton and Kenny Anderson, will be Sept. 10 at the Garden.