Ron Artest will have to finalize his decision on whether or not to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Kings and become a free agent by midnight Monday, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Even if he opts out, there appears to be a chance that he'll remain with the Kings. However, he might turn into an intriguing option for a number of contenders looking to take the next step.

He has long been expected to play out the final year of his deal, but in an e-mail to the Sacramento Bee last week, he expressed some change in his decision.

"I never knew so many teams would be coming after me," Artest wrote. "All I can say is I made a (big) turnaround."

Even if he opts ou,t the Kings hold his Bird rights and could execute a sign-and-trade for six years, rather than the limit of five he would be able to with a new team.

Ron Artest will exercise his Kings' option to become a free agent, according to Pete Vecsey of the New York Post.

He also reports that the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks are the teams that will be most interested in him.

The Clippers will reportedly be interested in the services of Kings point guard Beno Udrih if the proper player doesn't fall to them with the seventh overall pick, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The Knicks could follow the same school of thought, with both teams only able to offer Udrih the mid-level exception.

Ron Artest knows that he won't be able to get too much money from a contending team this summer but is hopeful that he'll cash in next year after the Kings have a big season, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.

"Next summer can be a bigger [free-agent] summer for me if the Kings win big," Artest said, "which is ? anything else is a failure."

He's also aware that the Kings are likely to get multiple trade offers as next season's deadline approaches if he decides to play out the final year of his contract in Sacramento.

Artest has only a few days left to make a firm decision on whether or not he will opt out and become a free agent next month.

According to Marc Stein, Sacramento forward Ron Artest told ESPN.com that he's, "99 percent sure I won't opt out of my contract" this month to become a free agent July 1.

He has also expressed hope that Sacramento will consider a contract extension, but the Kings have yet to show a willingness to go that route.

If Artest does pick up his option as expected, a trade may be on the cards, with the Lakers expected to be among those chasing his services.  

Artest was close to becoming a member of the Denver Nuggets in February.

The Kings are dealing with their loss to the Lakers in the 2002 playoffs all over again after allegations by former referee Tim Donaghy that two referees favored Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press.

Donaghy alleged in court papers that two referees purposely ignored personal fouls and called "made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6."

NBA Commissioner David Stern and Kings' owners Gavin and Joe Maloof have rejected the claims.

"What's been in the dark comes to the light, and the truth can squash a lot of things. And so if this is the truth, then all of a sudden now it adds validity to things people were thinking, things that our teammates and I'm sure the coaching staffs and the Maloofs were thinking at that particular time," former Kings' guard Doug Christie said.

The Kings worked out Russell Westbrook, Darrell Arthur and Joe Alexander on Friday night, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento also auditioned Ty Lawson, Nicolas Batum and Othello Hunter during the morning workout.

They hold the 12th, 42nd and 43rd picks in this month's NBA Draft.

Click on the following links to read RealGM's Draft Prospect Reports on Westbrook, Arthur, Alexander and Batum.

Disgraced ex-referee Tim Donaghy alleged in a filing made in U.S. District Court in New York on Tuesday that other referees have influenced NBA games as well as himself, including important playoff games, Chris Sheridan from ESPN.com is reporting.

According to the report, Donaghy claims that two of the three referees who called Game 6 of the Lakers-Kings playoff series in 2002 impacted the outcome.

NBA Commissioner David Stern denied the allegations.

"We welcome scrutiny here. This is something that should be scrutinized," said Stern, who called Donaghy a "singing, cooperating witness" and repeatedly referred to him as a felon as he spoke with reporters for more than eight minutes near the loading dock of the Staples Center as he arrived for Game 3 of the Finals.

In the letter submitted by Donaghy's attorney, the following "manipulation" is alleged:

"Referees A, F, and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams 5 and 6 in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team 5 victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be "company men," always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team 6. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team 5 players. The referees' favoring of Team 6 led to that team's victory that night, and Team 6 came back from behind to win that series."

Asked again if he would like to play for his hometown Knicks, Ron Artest once again said he'd love to, but it is unknown whether he'll be opting out of his contract which is set to pay him $7.4 million in 2008-09, the New York Daily News is reporting.

"Who wouldn't want to?" Artest said. "I'm not going to talk about that stuff till July 1. I don't play for the money, I play for the love."

Kings' assistant Chuck Person still hopes to get a call from the Bulls to become their next coach, according to The Sacramento Bee.

He has already interviewed with the team twice and is keeping his fingers crossed that he is the unexpected choice.

Throughout the team's search he has never been listed as a top candidate, yet he has been reassured by General Manager John Paxson that he is very much in the running.