On the surface, it will look no different than the changing of one player's role.

Veteran forward Mikki Moore will be on the Kings' bench at the outset of tonight's game against Utah, with second-year big man Spencer Hawes taking his place in the starting lineup and coach Reggie Theus about to employ his eighth starting five this season.

But in reality, it will mean much more.

Within the organization, Moore, in his 11th season, has become the virtual poster boy for the youth vs. veterans conflict that plagues the team and threatens Theus' job. With the stated goal of rebuilding well established and the front office and ownership desiring increased minutes for the younger players, Theus' loyalty to Moore and eternal endorsements of his impact have hurt his standing in his bosses' eyes.

The recent losing has only compounded matters, with the Kings dropping nine of their last 10 (four with Moore injured) and the justification for starting Moore wearing thinner with every defeat. Ironically, Theus' decision to start Hawes over Moore came just two days after – according to numerous sources close to the team – Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie met with co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof in Las Vegas to discuss the current state of affairs and the coach's future.

By all appearances, Theus – who is in the final guaranteed season of his contract – still will be given time to make the most of a less intense schedule and a roster on the mend. The Kings, whose strength of schedule thus far is ranked 21st in the league, had a league-high-tying 17 games in November. As such, Theus' challenge in the next few weeks will be using rare practice time for development and improvement on both ends.

The in-house debate about Moore's play and his impact has created two equally convinced camps. On one side are those who believe rookie forward Jason Thompson should be getting a bigger role based on his production and skill set.

While he is averaging more minutes than Moore (25.6 per game to 22.6), the rookie's production in points (20.1 per 48 minutes to Moore's 12.4) and on the glass (12.2 rebounds per 48 minutes to Moore's 9.3) far surpasses the veteran. It's a scenario similar to that of Hawes, who has had a recent dip in playing time that included 20 minutes Friday at Utah and 21 minutes Saturday against Dallas (nine through three quarters).

Even with his latest decision, Theus – who believes Moore's abilities, especially on defense, are undervalued – has been mostly on the other side of the conversation.

"Anytime there's a charge being taken, 90 percent of the time it's Mikki Moore taking it," Theus said. "He does all the little things, and those things matter. People talk about defense. The fans talk about defense, but then they want the guy who's a defensive guy to be out of the game."

While Moore said he's aware of Theus' contract situation, the reality is he has one of his own.

"We're both on the hot seat, to tell you the truth," he said.

Though Moore's contract runs through next season, he is in a free-agent season of sorts because only $2 million of his $6.2 million is guaranteed if he is waived before June 20, 2009. Thus, finding a way for his team to compete amid competing agendas clearly is a substantial part of Theus' challenge.

"With us losing, he wanted some new blood in the starting lineup, but he said it's not (set) in stone," Moore said.

"I'm not going to argue with the coach. If that's what you think is going to work, I'll go with it. I'm not going to call my agent and (complain) about it. I'm going to let you (Theus) do what (he has) got to do. I'll put myself to the side for the team. I'll come off the bench. If it stays like that, hopefully I'll get Sixth Man of the Year."

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