Less than a month away from NBA training camps, and the question keeps coming.

"How are the Kings going to be?"

People always ask me that, perhaps because the team and I are permanently linked at the hip.

Wow, what a partner.

More linked with the Kings than I am is Reggie Theus, who not only hooped for them but now coaches them.

The guess here is not even Theus can answer the aforementioned question. As unpredictable as the Kings were with Ron Artest, his talent and ferocity brought a semblance of toughness and competitiveness upon which a coach could depend.

That is, of course, when Ron-Ron played. And as many headaches as Artest gave Theus, the coach still wanted the big boy in his corner – at least that's what he said publicly.

Now Theus appears to be blowing in the wind.

There's been a lot written and quoted and said about these young talents ready to roll into Arco Arena and join the likes of Kevin Martin, Francisco García, Beno Udrih, Brad Miller and Mikki Moore.

Rookies Donté Greene and Jason Thompson are talented but unproven.

For that matter, so is Martin – as "The Man." It's a whole different ballgame trying to continue what he's done when there's nobody else there to reduce the weight and attention of defenses.

This is not to say Martin won't get it done or even flourish in his new role. It's to say no one knows, not even Martin, because he hasn't done it yet. He should have ultimate confidence, but success breeds more confidence.

So here's Theus with two years left on a contract and an organization that is setting up itself to make a big free-agency splash in two years. The last year on Theus' deal is at the team's option.

Knowing Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie as I do, he won't comment about a guy's contract and/or status.

However, in this instance, it might be nice, comforting and even beneficial to give his coach a little verbal public love.

Then again, knowing Petrie as I do, it's clear he and Theus are not exactly on the same page. If nothing else, Petrie is closer to mum is the word while Theus is closer to the word rarely is mum.

However, no matter what fans feel about Artest and even Mike Bibby, they were proven. Now it appears Theus' gig is to work with the youngsters and see what he can make of them.

That's not the way most of us would care to roll into this season – with a potential ax overhead.

CBS grad keeps rolling at Arizona

Not even the most avid fans have likely heard of Eric Harris, but that doesn't mean theArizona senior hasn't been doing his work on the basketball court.

Harris, 21, from Christian Brothers High School, was born with a dislocated hip. Now he rolls, literally, on the court for Arizona's wheelchair basketball team.

He's an African Studies major who, along with his teammates, competes against college teams such as Alabama, Missouri and Illinois, as well as adult squads from Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

"We've pretty much got the only collegiate team in the Western United States," Harris said.

Harris is a four-year, full-scholarship athlete at Arizona. Not bad for a youngster who started playing wheelchair hoops in high school.

"I was playing able-bodies sports before my father (Mark) and I looked up other options, and we came up with this," Harris said. "The next thing we knew, I was traveling all over the place and getting recruited."

Before returning to Tucson to begin classes last week, Harris worked out with his younger brother, Martin, a senior on Christian Brothers' varsity basketball squad.