Analysis: The moving likely isn't over

Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie was talking in automotive terms, saying how it was unfair to assume his new players with expiring contracts acquired in Saturday's trade wouldn't be re-signed this summer.

"That's throwing those guys under the bus right away," he said.

And the hidden revelation in it all? The bus is finally moving.

After so much talk of rebuilding and new chapters, the deal that sent Mike Bibby to Atlanta for four players was the sort of move those around the league had expected the Kings to make since early last season. Offer some young talent (second-year forward Shelden Williams), expiring deals that could – if they so choose – come with salary cap relief (the expiring contracts of Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson and Lorenzen Wright) and maybe a draft pick (in this case, a second-round selection in June), and you would make the Kings happy.

Just like that.

"I think we got some different potential parts of things that help us," Petrie said. "You have a chance to have another young big (in Williams) who was a fifth pick in the (2006) draft and hasn't had an opportunity yet. You get some veteran point guards there, some experience, and we'll see what happens down the road and how they integrate."

In theory, if all three players with expiring deals aren't re-signed this summer, the trade will have saved the Kings approximately $11 million off the salary cap and given them a lump-sum payroll of approximately $62 million. Although the cap for next season is not yet known, it was $55.63 million this season. Last season, it was $53.1 million.

The Kings also will have a relatively risk-free chance to assess Williams and whether he could fit into the future. The Duke product, who will earn $3,395,760 next season and has a team option for the 2009-10 campaign, had a fast start and gradual fall in Atlanta. He was the Rookie of the Month in his debut run while playing for an injured Marvin Williams, but he could never garner consistent playing time.

"I'll be able to play, and that's the best thing right there," Williams said by telephone. "I'll be able to showcase what I can do, and hopefully more consistently, too. That's one of the biggest things. … Hopefully, I'll make the best of it."

As Petrie noted, the first task at hand will be using this season's last 31 games to determine which point guards might have a future in Sacramento. Beno Udrih, whose playing time had diminished since Bibby returned from injury Jan. 16, said he welcomes a return to his previous role.

"I'd heard (Bibby) was trying to get traded and the Kings were trying to trade him before I got to Sacramento," Udrih said by phone. "It was just a matter of time when something was going to happen."

But Udrih acknowledged the awkward reality that he is now one of three point guards in a contract year.

Yet Lue might not be long for Sacramento, as he has been pursued by Phoenix and Boston and could be used in any subsequent deals before Thursday's trade deadline. On that front, sources close to Denver said talks between the Kings and Nuggets about Ron Artest have recently restarted. The elements of a potential deal appear to be the same, with the Kings holding out for third-year small forward Linas Kleiza and likely requiring forward Eduardo Najera and his expiring contract.

The Nuggets, it appears, continue to debate whether a move is necessary to keep up in the Western Conference arms race. However, at least one of their star players appears to have made up his mind. Carmelo Anthony told the Rocky Mountain News on Friday that he wants Artest as a teammate.

"I really believe that, if we get Ron Artest, that will make our team a lot more powerful, a lot stronger, a lot deeper than we are right now," Anthony said.

David Aldridge of TNT reported Saturday that a three-team deal among the Kings, Denver and Indiana would have brought Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal to Sacramento. Petrie, however, was adamant that he was not in three-team discussions, nor was he pursuing O'Neal.

"I don't know anything about that," Petrie said. "I've talked to Denver periodically over the last month or so, but there's nothing like that floating out there that I know of. … We don't have anything else going of any real significance (on Saturday), but I'm sure there will be some other conversations over the next five days."

About the writer:

• Read Sam Amick's Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.