Now that this relocation matter has been tabled and he will be coaching the Kings in Sacramento and not the Royals in Anaheim, Paul Westphal can relax his shoulder muscles. The arena ordeal has been lifted off his back, heaved somewhere into the background. The final game proved to be a dramatic season finale, not a funeral.

Anaheim vs. Sacramento. Kings vs. Royals. Maloof vs. Maloof. Owners vs. owners. Westphal, who for years has talked about writing a book, half-jokingly suggests that recent developments offer all the ingredients of a bestselling novel.

His genre? Romance.

"The thing that stands out to me is that the city hit some hard times economically," the Kings coach said Tuesday from his home in Southern California. "(The region) obviously needs a new building. The team hit rock bottom and is trying to climb back up. The city is trying to climb back up. There is something to catch a romantic bone in everyone's body. So let's go!"

Sift between the pages of these past several weeks and months and Westphal makes a good point. Someone should start scribbling. There was David Stern's warning shot during the All-Star festivities, persistent reports about the Kings' probable move to the Honda Center, the Maloofs' suspicious absence during the closing weeks of the season, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's dramatic presentation at the Board of Governors meeting in New York, and Monday, finally, the decision to stay.

But back to Westphal. Can't forget about Westphal. The second-year Kings coach maintained his wit and his professionalism and kept his cool. He was a soothing, comforting presence for a staggering community of Kings fans.

Whether his team improved or regressed from a year ago – and those within the organization characterize the 24-win season as disappointing – Westphal nonetheless gained some allies.

His postgame act that final night was one of the most compelling events I have witnessed in three decades of covering sports.

With approximately 5,000 fans lingering in the arena, chanting and cheering, and many of them crying, the players returned to the court, one by one. Led by Donté Greene, they hugged and high-fived fans, autographed hats, T-shirts, belts. They reached for the microphone and thanked the crowd.

And then Westphal came bounding through the tunnel, accompanied by his wife, Cindy. He ran onto the court and blew kisses to the fans, spun around and made contact with fans in each section. When he raised his arms and applauded, the place went crazy.

"There was a lot of history in that building," recalled Westphal. "Nobody knew if this would be the last night the Kings would be representing Sacramento. I think the fans deserved to know that the people in the locker room really felt what was going on, that this is all about emotion."

By numerous accounts, the scene resonated all the way back to New York, where the board of governors was discussing the Maloofs' plans to relocate. The scene, in essence, watered the seed. Why leave a market with such a tradition of support?

Westphal, who monitored developments closely, said he was relieved to hear from Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof early Monday. Almost as importantly, the Maloofs reiterated plans to aggressively address the team's weakness via free agency and the upcoming NBA draft.

This is a particularly interesting time for the league's small-market franchises, and for that matter, an interesting time for the league.

From a labor perspective, the NBA and union representatives are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement that is expected to include substantial revenue sharing to bolster the small-market franchises economically. While any potential personnel moves are dependent upon terms of the deal, of course, Westphal is encouraged by the possibilities.

The Kings' needs are obvious – point guard and small forward foremost among them. The Maloofs also are hopeful of re-signing center Samuel Dalembert and the surprising Marcus Thornton, though again, the concern will be doing so without limiting the ability to make additional moves.

"We'll wait for the lottery and see what happens," added Westphal. "I think we have a foundation that we have to build on. We need a few more pieces. Right now, I'm just watching games and enjoying the playoffs. I think they've been fantastic. Surprises happen at all levels. I'm with Gregg Popovich. If you're not at the top of your game, if anything goes wrong, you get knocked off, especially in the West. That's the mountain we're trying to climb."

Asked again about that potential book deal, he laughed. "Lot of undercurrents there. Can't wait to read about it."

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