Artest's future still remains a mystery

With less than two weeks until the NBA's trade deadline, it remains a mystery whether Ron Artest's days in Sacramento are nearing the end he's so sure is coming.

And although the trade talks appear to be relatively quiet, the consensus is that a move could likely come closer to the Feb. 21 deadline, as a number of teams see no choice but to add a potent piece of Artest's caliber down the stretch. Sources close to the Denver Nuggets said there remains a possibility of Artest joining Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony in the Mile High City after the two teams had discussions in recent weeks.

Although Nuggets vice president Mark Warkentien is believed to be in favor of acquiring Artest, the sources said coach George Karl is hesitant for a number of reasons. He is a fan of Artest's game, the sources said, but somewhat uneasy about losing forward Eduardo Najera in a deal in light of the uncertain status of Nene. The Nuggets' power forward is undergoing treatment for testicular cancer and hasn't played since Jan. 7.

In the meantime, Najera - who has an expiring contract ($4.95 million) and would likely come the Kings' way if a deal transpired - is filling his role and his departure would leave a void. The more pertinent question might be whether the Nuggets would give up small forward Linas Kleiza, whose contract ($1.01 million this season, team option for 2008-09 at $1.82 million) and upside intrigues the Kings.

The Kings might also attempt to send forward Kenny Thomas to Denver as well, while the Nuggets are believed to be making shooting guard J.R. Smith and his expiring contract ($2.1 million) available in the right deal. Denver isn't the only team who could come calling about Artest, especially in a Western Conference in which just five games separated first place and eighth place entering Friday. And although the Artest fear factor remains for most around the league as it pertains to his reputation, there are also those who wonder if he could do for them what he did for the Kings when leading their surprising playoff run in 2006.

With the trade talk relatively quiet, Artest continued to make noise in Sacramento. His absence from Thursday's practice created a ripple effect of sorts for Reggie Theus and his team, one that threatened to undermine the first-year coach but was somewhat contained before Friday night's game after a bizarre sequence of events.

After the Kings' loss to Seattle on Wednesday, sources close to the team said a frustrated Theus told his players that anyone who missed the next day's practice would not play against Utah on Friday. Yet Beno Udrih and Artest did not practice, the point guard because of an illness and the small forward - according to Theus and team officials - because of sore knees and feet.

The team sources said Theus relented on his stance Friday morning, telling the team it wasn't fair to punish injured or sick players for not practicing. Yet after Friday's shootaround, Artest - who had attended the practice but didn't participate - said he wasn't sore and that he simply wanted the rest.

"I just wanted to take a day off," Artest said. "I played a lot of minutes the other night (against Seattle), too. I think I played the most minutes on the team (40). There was no need for me to play those minutes, play the (power forward and small forward position), and get the ball down low and then come practice the next day. I'm probably one of the hardest workers at practice, too. It's not a big thing if I take off."

Theus said he could "only go by what I'm told when I ask a player face to face," but said he's not averse to certain veterans not practicing when they deem it necessary.

"They have to be men about what they choose to do and how they pace themselves, and I give those guys that leeway," he said. "There are certain guys on this team, just as there are guys on every team, that have the right to say, 'Hey, I'm not feeling well today.' Or, 'My leg is hurting,' or whatever, and coaches will go with their veteran players."

"Everybody's treated equal, but certain guys have the privilege of age and being a veteran and certain accomplishments in this league. They get a little more leeway in terms of stuff like that at this point of the season."