Kings Blog and Q&A

All part of living in the real world where the economy impacted the trade deadline like never before. Not only did the Lakers pass on acquiring help at center, they traded the one true backup at the position, sending Chris Mihm to Memphis for a second-round pick to save the salary that would also be doubled by the luxury tax. The potential impact in the semi-real basketball world is that the team that lost to the Celtics in the '08 Finals at least in part, if not in large part, because it got out-toughed may head into the playoffs with converted power forward Gasol backed up by Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga. The Lakers are still hoping to have Andrew Bynum back by then, but it's far from certain.

*John Salmons took a beating, with several executives concerned about an increasingly negative impression that contradicts the image of a quiet, focused, grounded player in a productive season. Salmons and others close to him would undoubtedly counter the claims, but that doesn't change the fact that teams are hearing about personality issues and believing them.

Said one exec after the Salmons-Miller trade to the Bulls was announced: "I don't think they (the Kings) are going to throw a big going-away party" for him.

*The real impact of the Thunder calling off the Tyson Chandler trade because of a toe injury flagged by the Oklahoma City doctor may not be known for years, after Chandler plays on and everyone watches together to see if he plays another six productive seasons or the toe falls off in the next five minutes. Most team physicians and some trainers hate the scrutiny of their decisions becoming so public and bristle at the slightest suggestion of poor job performance when people at every other level of the organization understand it goes with the territory.

But there is the important short-term consideration that the Thunder may have missed out on other agreeable deals in the day and a half between supposedly acquiring Chandler and rescinding the deal after the mandatory physical, as is a team's right. Oklahoma City didn't have Joe Smith or Chris Wilcox, valued as expiring contracts, to deal as long as they were packed to the Hornets for Chandler.

Medical staffs have this kind of crucial input all the time, just usually without this kind of spotlight, and the OKC doc may become a hero who did his job well or the former team physician if Chandler starts stacking up seasons of double-digit rebounds. One of the most famous decisions: The Clippers used the No. 2 pick in 1989 on Danny Ferry after their doctor said Sean Elliott's surgically repaired knee would not last.

Oops.

*Semi-related to the trade frenzy: Mikki Moore, cut by the Kings on Thursday, will not be out of work long and will likely even join a team to ride into the postseason. It may even be a championship team, with the above-mentioned Lakers in need of an insurance big man and the Celtics having been searching for inside help much of the season.

The cost to the next employer would be minimal, a prorated deal at the minimum as Moore continues to draw on the final months of his 2008-09 contract with the Kings at $5.78 million with the $2 million he was guaranteed for next season. He may also add playoff money.

*The Rockets were involved on many fronts and -- surprise! -- Ron Artest was in the middle. No one in Houston is calling his acquisition regrettable, but the tension in the locker room there is becoming obvious enough to draw knowing snickers from the Kings.

It's not all Artest, of course. Tracy McGrady told the press he was having season-ending knee surgery before he told the Rockets, prompting a strong public rebuke from Rick Adelman. But Ron-Ron is shooting 39.1 percent as a part-time starter and has taken the second-most three-pointers on the team, and meanwhile Houston is 33-21 and barely hanging on to one of the final playoff spots.

Said one executive, when asked if the Rockets had been trying to trade Artest: "Oh, (heck) yeah. I think when they would call and say, 'We've got expiring contracts,' he was at the top of the list."