The bottom line is the Kings had won 23 percent of their games this season entering Saturday night's game in Milwaukee against the Bucks.

That has them living in the same NBA neighborhood (call it Slug Row) populated by the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards.

"What happened to the (bleeping) Kings? They are the softest team in NBA history! What are they doing? Do they have a plan?" That's what an NBA executive wrote to me in a text message.

Even people in and around the league wonder how the Kings ended up in this situation.

Following are questions I get virtually every day from people who associate me with the team, perhaps because I covered them daily for many of the past 19 years.

Question: What's up with your Kings?

Answer: They are not my Kings, never were and likely never will be. They don't pay me, never have and likely never will. The Kings are struggling and likely will until their organization, once model and now confused, improves.

Q: Is team ownership setting this team up to fail?

A: No, at least not intentionally.

Q: Do the Maloofs intend to move the team to Las Vegas – or anywhere else, for that matter?

A: No. Not if they are rational and unemotional about the way the city and probably they feel about the Kings.

Q: Why don't you criticize (basketball) president Geoff Petrie more?

A: How much would be enough? Do you want to fire Petrie? And then hire whom to replace him? Petrie remains, in my opinion, one of the best basketball presidents/general managers around. He's not perfect; he has made a couple of grievous mistakes. In terms of this season, what he received in the Ron Artest trade (first-round draft pick Donté Greene, Bobby Jackson, a 2009 first-round choice and about $1 million) was the biggest error. I never intentionally credited Petrie as the end-all, be-all when the Kings were rolling. Hence, I'm not taking him to slaughter now that they are struggling.

Q: What would you do if you ran the Kings?

A: Whoa! If I own them, then Petrie gets his call on whom to hire as coach. He has full authority to decide how much that coach gets paid and the length of his contract.

The Maloofs have been cheap on head-coaching salaries (you get what you pay for).

Then I tell Petrie to get off his penchant for players without toughness. Sure, it's nice and necessary to have shooters, but I don't want any players who have to think about sacrificing their body for a loose ball. I want players who do it instinctively. The Kings have to get tough. Period.

And I'd hire a coach who tells Kevin Martin that his defensive approach to the game is one of the worst I've ever seen. It's not in the best interest of a coach to alienate his leading scorer. However, Martin doesn't guard, he doesn't rebound defensively and, like the rest of the Kings, he doesn't foul. The last time I checked, they were last in the league in fouls. Man, I miss Brian Grant, Michael "The Animal" Smith, Sarunas Marciulionis, Bonzi Wells and even Anthony "Spud" Webb.

None of these Kings shacking up on Slug Row made a conscious decision to reside in the 'hood. They ended up there because of consistently poor decision-making combined with misfortune and injuries, particularly early in the season.

Call The Bee's Martin McNeal, (916) 326-5504.