--During the course of Reggie Theus' first season on an NBA bench, the Kings coach became a master of extinguishing fires in his locker room.

Yet Theus wasn't able to put out the final flame before it spread. In an end-of-season media session, Theus spoke extensively about the value of Ron Artest to his team and upset shooting guard Kevin Martin in the process. Specifically, he talked about late-game situations and deemed his small forward the only option to "throw the ball to."

"Outside of Ron Artest, we don't have anyone you can throw the ball to," Theus said. "Without that guy, we're going to have to start figuring out where we're going to throw the ball."

While Theus would later clarify his view as relating to players who draw double-teams and not the simple concept of a go-to player, Martin was nonetheless incensed. Martin, who begins his five-year extension worth approximately $55 million next season, voiced his strong disagreement with Theus in The Sacramento Bee. Regretfully for Theus, it didn't end there. Over the course of the next two days, he made two radio appearances to continue discussing the topic in what was a truly bizarre finish to an otherwise-productive debut season as a coach.

--With the Kings selling out Arco Arena just three times last season, there is a desperate need to increase ticket sales and find new ways to increase the interest again.

They did it with their "Luckiest Season Ticket holder" contest.

Margie Parilo won the contest by that name on May 13, giving her the right to travel with the Kings to the draft lottery in Secaucus, N.J. on May 20. The Kings are the first team in NBA history to offer such an invite.

Parilo won the honor by sheer luck, with her name coming up among six ping-pong balls that represented the contest's six finalists. To get to that point, Parilo and her fellow season-ticket holder finalists had submitted a 60-second video saying why they were the luckiest fan. From there, the team had fans vote on the videos on the team's web site to determine the finalists.

--It remains whether Theus' coaching staff will look the same next season.

According to Newsday, New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh will eventually talk to Kings assistant Chuck Person about a position with his team. Person and Walsh remain close from their days together in Indiana. What's more, Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof expressed a desire in April to hire a big man's coach to work with the team's tall timber.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"When you look at the good teams in the league, every good team has somebody they can throw the ball to. Down the stretch of games, what people don't really understand is that teams are throwing the ball to (Houston's) Tracy McGrady and letting him decide and figure out what's going on. They're throwing the ball to (the Los Angeles Lakers') Kobe (Bryant). They're throwing the ball to (Dallas') Dirk Nowitzki. They're throwing the ball to their best player and letting that guy get the double-team and (play) out of it. Outside of Ron Artest, we don't have anyone you can throw the ball to... Without that guy, we're going to have to start figuring out where we're going to throw the ball." -- Kings coach Reggie Theus, on the possibility that Artest could opt out of his contract and be on his way out in Sacramento.

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