Take solace in this, Kings fans: Geoff Petrie knows this hasn't gone as planned.

It's the purple elephant in the room at One Sports Parkway, a beast so big it could cover all the empty seats at Arco Arena.

It didn't help that Petrie changed the rebuilding plan a few times along the way. Nor was the country's economic downturn or the owners' battered bottom line particularly advantageous.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the organization – from his own status to the ever-present arena issues – the Kings' basketball president insists the team is worth watching again.

The Kings were good before, and Petrie is confident they'll be good again.

"It's really hard to just turn a team around on a dime immediately without some fortuitous set of circumstances," Petrie said recently. "But on the other hand, at least if you're rebuilding, to me that's different than building. … That means you were once good."

Sooner rather than later, of course, because the Kings' five-year improvement project is dangerously behind schedule. Attendance has dwindled. Fans have lost interest. And skepticism is at an all-time high at Arco Arena.

Petrie was candid as he reflected on the past five years in discussing the state of his union in an early October interview with The Bee. It's been three consecutive seasons without playoffs. It's likely to take at least two more to return to contention.

He acknowledged his past misjudgments. He spoke of a promising future, one in which Tyreke Evans won't be doing it alone – but will certainly be a solid start.

Being in position to select the Memphis guard fourth overall in the June draft is the fortuitous addition the Kings have been waiting for: a dynamic player with star power and the potential to speed up the rebuilding process.

Now that the Kings have developing youth on hand and coach Paul Westphal, who should bring their coaching carousel to a halt, there is measured optimism from co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof on down.

As long as their vision is clear this time around.

Rebuilding attempts fail

The setbacks to this project were always different versions of the same problem: The stubborn attempt to reload instead of rebuild began in 2005 and started a long search for the team's next core.

First it was the Mike Bibby-Peja Stojakovic-Brad Miller mix that never quite meshed. Then came the Ron Artest era that coincided with the emergence of Kevin Martin. Tied to the latter was the continued habit of adding well-paid veterans to the roster rather than focusing on cheaper youth. All told, it shows rebuilding has been a difficult concept for Petrie.

"You can always make the case that maybe you should've gotten worse faster, but when you're winning, that can be a hard call to make," said Petrie, who is in the final year of his contract. "It's just like anything else. I guess you can say, 'Well, if I got out of the stock market in '07, I'd have a lot more money.'

"Let's just say you got rid of all your good veteran players right off the bat – how much better would you be today? I don't know. You still have to draft right; you still have to sign right."

The signings from the past few years, however, have hardly paid off for Petrie.

In July 2008, less than two months after saying the Kings were looking to the future, Petrie signed Beno Udrih to a five-year, $32 million deal. Two months later, he inked Francisco García to a five-year, $29.6 million contract (fifth-year team option).

The motives were clear. The Kings had no proven point guard at the time. They chose Udrih to fill the role instead of looking for a cheaper option with a shorter contract. García's versatility and leadership skills inspired Petrie to reward him.

But the price of those signings will keep the team from seriously competing in the 2010 free-agent derby. Next offseason, superstars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash could become free agents.

Assuming the Kings pick up team contract options for next season on Donté Greene, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes, their 2010-11 payroll stands at $40.4 million even before paying for the next crop of draft picks. The league's salary cap is $57.7 million this season and likely to be a similar figure next season.

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.