Sacramento Kings

Kenny Thomas is familiar with being used as a cost-cutting measure, so this isn't entirely different.

The Kings veteran forward didn't travel with the team for the second half of last season, a move that never would have been made if he had any significant role to speak of.And now the once-forgotten man is the player with the $8.7 million expiring contract, a deal the Kings are looking to trade to any team looking to cut salary next summer. For a worthy price, of course.

A source with knowledge of the situation said the Kings have had discussions with New Orleans about a trade involving Thomas and Hornets center Emeka Okafor.

Acquiring the 6-foot-10, 255-pound big man, who is in his sixth season, would likely take the Kings out of the running for free-agent dealings next summer and maybe summers thereafter. He has five years and $62.5 million left on his contract, including this season.

Okafor,whowasdrafted second overall by Charlotte in 2004 and traded to New Orleans in late July, has career averages of 13.9 points and 10.6 rebounds. The source said nothing is imminent and this is merely a two-way, exploratory discussion at present. Meanwhile, Thomas is relishing his own new reality. He's more than an expiring contract these days – he's a basketball player.

After playing in a combined 31 games in the last two seasons (eight in 2008-09), he has played in five of the last six games while averaging 13.4 minutes, and proving perhaps he should have been out there all along.

His interior defense and rebounding skills are a good fit for the style adopted by firstyear Kings coach Paul Westphal, with no game showing that better than Friday's win over Houston. Thomas logged 19 minutes, grabbed seven rebounds and helped with the likes of Luis Scola and Carl Landry down low. Considering the Kings' ability to be physical with the Rockets was a key factor, his was a pivotal performance.

"The last two years have been crazy, but we have a coach now who has experience," Thomas said. "He's been around the block. He knows what it takes to win, and ... he's just playing the best guys when he feels it's the right time for them ... It feels good to just be on the court." Casspi turns ankle ... again– Kings rookie small forward Omri Casspi turned his left ankle for the second time in a week Friday but said he expects to be ready to play Tuesday against Chicago.

Casspi, who didn't play against Utah on Nov. 7 after turning the ankle in practice the previous day, tweaked it again in the fourth quarter against Houston and did not return. The team did not practice Saturday, but Casspi said he will test the ankle at today's practice before deciding if he will take part.

Et cetera – Guard Tyreke Evans has scored 20-plus points in the last four games, a mark last achieved by a Kings rookie when Lionel Simmons did it in seven consecutive games in the 1990-91 season.

• The Kings have scored 100-plus points in their past six games.

• The Kings stopped a three-game losing streak to the Rockets.

For more Kings coverage, go to sacbee.com/kings.

A look at the Kings' opponents this week:

Tuesday

vs. Chicago

Time: 7 p.m.

TV: CSNCA. The skinny: Brad Miller and John Salmons return to Sacramento as key members of the Bulls. It will also be the first NBA game between Tyreke Evans and the Bulls' Derrick Rose, both of whom starred at Memphis as freshmen in consecutive seasons.

Friday

at Dallas

Time: 5:30 p.m., American Airlines Center.

TV: CSNCA.

The skinny: This will be another road test against a team that could prove to be among the Western Conference elite. Look for the Mavs to test Sacramento's frontcourt defense with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.

Saturday

at Houston

Time: 5:30 p.m., Toyota Center. TV: CSNCA.

The skinny: Might the Rockets' lineup have Tracy McGrady this time around? Who knows if the former All-Star will be back?

– Jason Jones

Kings coach Paul Westphal and his sideline manner – with fist pumps, pirouettes, the barking of directions and the heaping of praise – has injected life back into the team.

Paul Westphal has gone and done it. In a matter of weeks, he has put some kick back in the Kings. Or as someone said to me after Friday's victory over the Houston Rockets, "All that diving on the floor. What's that about?"

One season. Two seasons. Three seasons. Part of four seasons. You start to forget how the game is supposed to be fun, how spontaneous fans are supposed to sound, how an arena is supposed to feel. And yet sooner than expected, Arco Arena has experienced a dramatic mood swing.

Inside, there is a pulse. Outside, it's safe to wear purple in public again.

"I think the fans of Sacramento are dying for a team they can love," Westphal said recently. "We want to give them hustle, give them players that dive on the floor, take charges, show how much they care."

Nine games into the season, these Kings are doing all of the above, and most importantly, they're doing it at home. This is where it starts, where a love affair is rekindled. Take back Arco, revive the passion in the coziest of NBA buildings, and a huge advantage returns to the Kings.

While it's too early for major pronouncements, changes are happenings.

Westphal has thrown a fresh coat of paint on the walls, cleaned up the locker room and rid the coaching staff of the chronic sniping. The Kings and their visitors can walk around the facility these days without choking on the negativity.

"There is a certain swagger he brings," said Jason Thompson. "He's been a winning coach. He was a successful player. We set goals for certain games, about rebounding, getting stops and running. The message is, 'If you don't set goals and want to be successful, you shouldn't be here.' " One question for the coach: Where ya been all these years?

While the Kings endured the end of the Rick Adelman era and the tenures of Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus and Kenny Natt, Westphal in fact was always in the neighborhood, coaching Pepperdine for five years, working on Avery Johnson's staff for a season in Dallas, then returning to his native Southern California.

He wanted another NBA headcoaching gig so badly, he went out and grabbed one. He offered to work for whatever the Maloofs could afford – a figure around $1.5 million per year – and was willing to do so without long-term guarantees. Two years, a few incentives; that's all he wanted, all he received.

This is what the Maloofs are getting in return: The indefatigable Thompson emerging as a force at power forward. Beno Udrih rehabilitated. Rookie Tyreke Evans thriving in a backcourt with Udrih, a veteran point guard. Spencer Hawes struggling with his shot but muscling for rebounds to keep his job. Andres Nocioni, Omri Casspi, Donté Greene contributing. Kenny Thomas again a factor.

For whatever reasons – his short contract, his eagerness to re-establish himself in his profession, his innate love of the game – Westphal, 58, is coaching with a sense of urgency and demanding that his players follow the same timeline.

He has his quirks and will make crazy moves, as do most creative, confident coaches. He started and waived small forward Desmond Mason within a matter of weeks. He benched Udrih for the season opener.

He started Sean May ahead of Hawes. He directed the struggling Casspi to shoot the technical against Oklahoma City to instill confidence in him. In addition, Westphal rejects the notion of a rigid rotation. He prefers instead to tinker with substitution patterns, coaching by feel and flow, with playing time dictated by performance. His sideline performance itself is inspiring, replete with fist pumps, pirouettes, the barking of directions, the heaping of praise.

Plenty of challenges await, of course. The Kings need another big man. The offense lacks fluidity and the ball movement is nonexistent at times. And while Kevin Martin's injury absence has allowed for the more effective Udrih-Evans backcourt pairing, Westphal will be forced to re-evalute when his scoring leader returns. (Udrih, Evans and Martin together on the court, perhaps?)

Meantime, the Kings are competing, scrapping, entertaining and reclaiming their real estate. Finally, there is a sense of renewal at Arco, of a legitimate, pragmatic and workable rebuilding process. All of it starts with the coach.

Kings Co-Owner Gavin Maloof took some time Thursday to answer a handful of questions from his mailbag.

Join members of the Sacramento Kings Dance Team to celebrate the unveiling of the new Sacramento Kings Dance Team Calendar at The Park Downtown.

An MRI taken today of Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans' left knee revealed an acute patellar bone bruise.