Sacramento Kings

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Hall of Famer and former Lakers great Jerry West visit following the mayor's press conference on Thursday, where Johnson introduced nine of the 12 volunteer members of his arena task force. They will review arena proposals next month.

Building momentum for his vision for a sports and entertainment complex in Sacramento, Mayor Kevin Johnson on Thursday introduced a 12-person volunteer task force that will conduct a public review of proposals in coming months for a project with a basketball arena as centerpiece.

Co-chairing the group are local businesswoman and arts advocate Lina Fat, of the Fat restaurant family, and Christoper Lehane of San Francisco, a political strategist who has worked in the Clinton White House.

The group is tentatively scheduled to meet twice monthly to study how arenas have been built in other cities and to vet proposals for an arena in Sacramento. Johnson last week issued a call for developers to submit their ideas - including financing and location - for an entertainment complex and arena to replace aging Arco Arena.

Saying he wants to move quickly to assure Sacramento doesn't lose the Sacramento Kings, Johnson has set a Dec. 24 deadline for submission of arena proposals. Several local developers have said they are considering responding, including Thomas Enterprises, the owner and developer of Sacramento's downtown railyard, a site city officials have said would be ideal for a sports complex.

Also on the task force are:

Dea Spanos Berberian, an executive with the Stockton-based A. G. Spanos development company, whose founder owns the San Diego Chargers football team.

Dorene Dominguez, Sacramento-based president of the Vanir Group, a real estate development company.

Tom Friery, former Sacramento city treasurer who was instrumental in brokering an earlier Arco Arena loan to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Mark Harris, president of the Pineapple Group, a public finance company.

Larry Kelly, who led the efforts in the 1990s to convert McClellan Air Force base for civilian business use.

Matt Kelly, executive secretary of the Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council.

Mike Kvarme, with the Weintraub Genshlea Chediak law firm.

Dan Meis, Los Angeles-based architect who has designed downtown L.A.'s Staples Center arena and numerous other major league sports facilities nationally.

Adam Mendelsohn, a political consultant with Mercury Public Affairs.

And Ron Tom of Governmental Advocates, a political consultancy.

The Sacramento Kings' Jason Thompson reacts to a foul called against him on the Chicago Bulls during the first half Tuesday night at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif, on November 17, 2009.

Talk of possible trades dominated the conversation in our Kings live chat with Bee columnist Ailene Voisin. Replay it here.

Recently signed Ime Udoka, left, of the Kings steals the ball from Oklahoma City's Nick Collison in the first half Tuesday night at Arco Arena. Helping on defense is Donté Greene. The Kings have won three in a row and are at .500 for the first time since 2006.

Ime Udoka knows a little bit about adjusting to a new team.

He started his college career at Eastern Utah before transferring to USF. His final stop was Portland State in 2000.

Then came the International Basketball League, United States Basketball League, Spanish League, French League and NBA Development League before Udoka finally washed ashore in the NBA. He played four games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003-04 and eight with New York in 2005-06 before starting 75 games for Portland in 2006-07.

Now in Sacramento, Udoka has a worldly perspective on how to handle adverse situations that can be passed on to his younger Kings teammates.

With two Kings veterans – Kevin Martin and Francisco García – out for extended time because of wrist injuries, a voice with wisdom and experience on and off the court is welcome.

"There's no real substitute for experience and going through certain situations on the court," Udoka said. "Me being pretty well traveled and being with a lot of teams that have done well, I've learned a lot of things from older guys and vets that have been through big playoff battles and championship battles. And I can share that with young guys just getting into the league."

Many of the problems the Kings had in their 101-87 loss to Chicago on Tuesday were the result of youthful mistakes that led to turnovers.

So having a player with playoff experience during the past two seasons in San Antonio, one who played all over the world to stick in the NBA, is valuable in Sacramento.

"I think that if you're around Ime and you don't learn something from him, then there's something wrong with you," said Kings coach Paul Westphal. Udoka signed with the Kings on Nov. 4 and has played in five games, averaging 20.4 minutes a game.

Known as a defender, Udoka has seven steals. Westphal has been impressed with Udoka's presence on the floor.

"I think he's better than I thought he would be," Westphal said. "I knew he was solid, but I think he's better than solid. He's not somebody that totally waits for an opportunity to hurt (an opponent). He creates some opportunity both offensively and defensively."

Udoka's travels helped make his latest transition easy. He didn't play the day he signed with the Kings because he hadn't practiced. Once he did, Westphal had no problem using Udoka against Utah three days later.

Udoka said he has played in enough systems to make adjusting to Westphal's easy.

"I've had to pretty much go on the fly, come off the bench, start some games and stuff like that," Udoka said. "So I've been through every situation basketball-wise. But you still have to learn the players and learn tendencies on the court, so that doesn't change much."

Injury update – Forward Andres Nocioni (right hip pointer) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. Nocioni sat out Tuesday's game and was replaced by Donté Greene in the starting lineup.

"I think the nature of that injury is you don't want to overdo it and get bumped again," Westphal said. "But I'd say he's a little more likely to play the next game (Friday in Dallas) than he was the last game, but he's probably questionable to doubtful."

Kings chat today – Join Bee columnist Ailene Voisin to talk about the Kings today at 11 a.m. at www.sacbee.com/live.

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.