By the time the regular season finale came, the Kings hung their collective hat on the five-game improvement from the season before.

It was a baby step in the maturing process, as they missed the postseason for a second straight time but feel confident they can be relevant again in the coming seasons. To get there, however, all involved know that the slop must stop.

The Kings were last in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, this from an organization that earned the opposite type of reputation in the winning era that came under Rick Adelman. When Kings coach Reggie Theus met with his staff after the season and in later sessions with team basketball president Geoff Petrie, there was a heavy emphasis on returning to a more fluid and efficient offensive style.

Exactly what players will be asked to do in order to carry out that plan remains unknown. Small forward Ron Artest has until June 30 to exercise the early termination option in his contract, but the last public declaration from the veteran or his agent is that he is "not likely" to do so. If Artest doesn't opt out, he will be on the books for one more season at $7.4 million and the Kings will likely look to find a fair trade just as they did last season. If he opts out and the Kings don't look to re-sign him, then swingman John Salmons would likely step into the role unless Petrie went shopping for an upgrade.

Point guard Beno Udrih will be a free agent in July and is expected to be courted quite heavily by the Kings. The Kings have only their midlevel exception with which to work. Yet if the two sides can't reach an agreement and the Kings don't land one of the draft's top point men from what will likely be the No. 12 spot, then Petrie will have to try desperately to fill the position. Even with Artest, the pre-Udrih games from last season (which came when Mike Bibby was injured) were disastrous offensively because the Kings have no bona fide point guards on the roster. Rebounding will also be a major point of emphasis for the Kings, who may look to land an athletic big man in the draft.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
The lack of any real playoff hopes for most of the season made this a season of mini-highlights, and none was better than the play of Kings center Brad Miller.

The 10-year veteran returned from the worst season of his career by losing 25 pounds and playing like his old self again, thrilling the Kings' fans with an aggressive offensive game and avoiding a repeat of what was a humbling 2006-07 campaign. His points went from nine per game to 13.4, while his rebounding averages jumped from 6.4 to 9.4 and Miller was among the league's most improved players.

TURNING POINT
When the Kings arrived in Memphis on Feb. 12, they were just three games under .500 and had won 11 of their last 17 games.

But the momentum all came to a screeching halt with an inexcusable 107-94 loss to the Grizzlies. As the season wore on, it would become a fatal trend for the Kings, who showed an ability to beat some of the league's best teams but also fell far too many times to some of the worst. That loss was the second game in a stretch in which they lost 10 of 14 games and lost any realistic chance of keeping up in the incredible Western Conference race.

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