The loudest cheers during pregame introductions for the Minnesota Timberwolves were for the coach Tuesday night.
Former Sacramento coach Rick Adelman was back in town with Minnesota, his second team since being let go by the Kings in 2006.
It's not the same coming back for Adelman. The only current Kings personnel who were around during Adelman's tenure mostly are front office members.
The Kings players Adelman does know were ones he coached in Houston: forward Chuck Hayes and point guard Aaron Brooks.
Adelman guided the Kings to the playoffs in each of his eight seasons with them. They have not been to the postseason since his departure.
During the Kings' playoff run, most outsiders wouldn't have thought about the franchise relocating. Now there is plenty of speculation about their future in Sacramento.
"The players aren't the same, there aren't as many fans as there were before, but it's a great city," Adelman said. "I think it's always a shame that there's a threat to move out and not have a team in Sacramento. The fans here were terrific when I was here."
Rough month – Kings coach Keith Smart has dealt with more drama this month than he would care to see from his team in November.
Monday, Brooks was fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands after Friday's loss at Utah.
"Sometimes things happen and you can't control it," Smart said. "But you can't have flying mouthpieces going and hitting some little kid in the stands. You can't have that in our league."
Smart made it clear that Brooks' mouthpiece didn't hit a child. He was simply speaking on the possibility.
Brooks was the third Kings player disciplined by the league this month. DeMarcus Cousins and Thomas Robinson were suspended for two games each for separate incidents.
The suspensions were among the reasons the Kings were in the Western Conference cellar entering Tuesday's game.
"You can't get back what has gotten away from us," Smart said. "You can't get back losing a couple of guys to suspensions. We can't get back opening up on the road and losing three games in a row."
Smart, however, was optimistic about what the rough start could mean in the future.
"Hopefully, the pains of the month will benefit us as we put this thing in the ground and moving forward," Smart said.
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