Gerald Wallace made himself a fan favorite during his first two seasons with the Kings by coming off the bench late in games and throwing down acrobatic, artistic dunks.
But those days are over.

He'll still be a fan favorite for his dunks. But if things go according to the plan of Wallace, coach Rick Adelman and assistant coach Elston Turner, the small forward will become more valuable because of consistent, thoughtful play with games on the line.

Wallace no longer will be an afterthought for Adelman, not with the trade of forward Hedo Turkoglu and the team's decision to not re-sign veteran forward-guard Jim Jackson. The 6-foot-7, 21-year-old Wallace is slated to back up All-Star Peja Stojakovic.

Turner has worked with Wallace for most of the past two seasons. The assistant coach has been pleased by improvement he's seen during workouts. Now, the coaches want to see Wallace apply what he's learned in practice during games.

"One of the things I've been working on is trying to get his head right," Turner said. "Every young guy in the league is told that his time will come. Well, the door opened so wide for him this summer, it was incredible. The two players who played in front of him are no longer here.

"And his production will be gauged by consistency. It's not about playing well for five or six minutes. It's about doing it in a league where you sometimes play three or four games a week."