Ron Artest: Tracking Twitter Response to World Peace's Bizarre NBA Lockout Tweet

Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest, since the Twitterverse and sports world buzzing Tuesday. Mr. Peace has become an avid tweeter, and while his tweets are rarely mundane, he took it to new heights on Tuesday.

This was the tweet that got everyone buzzing:

@MettaWorldPeace

People had no idea what to do with this. Was Ron-Ron really on the inside that he got an inside scoop. After all, he could have hear from Derek Fisher.

@I_Am_Durty was obviously hoping this was the case.

The public was perplexed. They couldn't find this news anywhere else. @JoeBudden summed up that feeling well with this response:

Of course, there were legitimate amounts of skepticism. And for various reasons. Like the one expressed by @FJiandan:

NBA experts like @AlexKennedyNBA knew better than to get too excited.

After about an hour of questions and buzz, Metta let everyone in on the gag in a way only he could.

And that tweet earned my favorite response of the day from @purpyellow4life:

You just can't toy with people's basketball emotions like that and expect your bunions to escape pain free.

And after the dust settled, we are right back where we started: locked out from NBA action. But let this Twiitter adventure to David Stern and the negotiating powers of the NBA. Things can get interesting in a hurry when people have a wealth of new found free time. 

I've got a feeling this is just the tip of the iceburg for Ron Artest as he tries to cure his boredom, and I wouldn't even begin to speculate at what that iceburg looks like below the surface of the water.

You also have to believe he isn't the only NBA player that is starting to get "creative" while they sit idle when they are used to being in training camp.