Aliene Voisin: Has Bibby displayed enough staying power?

Mike Bibby finally made it home last night. He had been missing so long – two months and 39 games into his 10th NBA season – that Reggie Theus had all but scrapped the curfew by then. The ban on cellphones had been eased. The grousing about minutes and substitutions had largely ceased. Teammates had suffered and recovered from injuries.

What else has happened since Bibby and his headband and his assorted bruises were last spotted at Arco Arena? Well, the trade rumors have persisted. The debate has continued on local sports talk shows. And if the veteran point guard wanted to engage in some seriously self-destructive behavior, he could click onto the Internet at all hours and read all about it.

Bibby going somewhere, maybe New York, maybe Miami, maybe Cleveland.

But Bibby won't even go there. The longest-tenured King made his 2007-08 home debut Tuesday night against a terrible New Jersey Nets club, and despite the distractions and the rust, and a brief encounter with butterflies, his performance was familiar, impressive, complete.

After being greeted with a warm reception during introductions, he sank his first three-pointer from the left arc, converted his first free throws, scored on those elusive stutter-step drives, released a few more jumpers in perfect rhythm – and with perfect rotation – and found teammates in the wings and corners for easy looks.

And, as Theus noted later in a quiet corner of the locker room, "What I liked best was the way Mike defended and pushed the ball, which is what I've been asking him to do. This is the way we have to play."

True enough, but Theus is all new to this. This is his first lengthy look at his projected starting five, and given the Kings' recent history, monitoring the compatibility level these next few weeks should be fascinating theater.

For the moment – and as the Feb. 21 trade deadline approaches – the involved parties are chatting like diplomats, with everyone happy to have everyone back and healthy, sort of like old times, etc., etc., etc. Except, of course, that old times weren't necessarily good times.

Can't forget about that.

The Bibby-Ron Artest pairing was temporarily successful for the final months of Rick Adelman's tenure in 2006, but a year ago, the two stars resembled Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in their latest debate; both proved capable of dividing a room with the best of them. Regardless of whether their much-publicized differences are personal or pertain strictly to a clash of on-court styles, if the tension again percolates, they will have to at least pretend to be consumed by a common purpose for the Kings to entertain even a remote chance of stealing a playoff berth.

"Chemistry was our biggest problem last year," Francisco García reminded with a shrug. "No doubt about that. But if we play with the chemistry we showed tonight? Man, look out. We can be a great team."

Geoff Petrie, among others, has longed to evaluate his team with a different coach and his roster intact, though performances like these only figure to complicate discussions. On nights like these, as García noted, the Kings appear both talented and potentially dangerous. It's always tough to mess with a winner.

Artest swiped five passes and deflected numerous others, embraced his opportunities in the low post and resisted the temptation to overdribble. Kevin Martin furthered his reputation as one of the league's most efficient and unselfish scorers. Brad Miller continued his resurgence with his passing, rebounding and presence. García converted jumpers and defended aggressively. Beno Udrih penetrated for high-arching drives or found teammates in the corners. Mikki Moore was active in limited minutes. And as the floor leader, Bibby repeatedly grabbed the ball and broke downcourt, advancing with a faster-than-usual dribble, or even on occasion, with a long pass.

Theus only half-jokingly admits that Bibby "will never play fast enough to satisfy me," but he has been pleased with his point guard's willingness to inject a little caffeine into a style that has become increasingly deliberate, at times even agonizingly so.

"I'm trying to play faster," said Bibby, who contributed seven of the Kings' 30 assists, "so we'll see. This is my fourth game back. My timing is coming back. We're winning, and that's the good part. Everybody's playing together. Tonight we got stops. We got rebounds. We were sharing the ball."

Asked about the trade speculation, Bibby just shrugs. Bibby just plays.

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• Call The Bee's Ailene Voisin, (916) 321-1208.