PHILADELPHIA -- Into every All-Star event a King must pass, so they even get pseudo-representation on the East team today. It's a reminder of how well things are going in Sacramento and New Jersey, not to mention how it raises the question of why the league doesn't just replace the red-and-and-blue silhouette logo of Jerry West with one of sunset-lit Tower Bridge.

The Kings have the best record in the league at the break, Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic are on the West for the main event, Stojakovic was in the shooting contest, and Gerald Wallace was in the dunk. Hedo Turkoglu was in the rookie-sophomore game and teamed with Ticha Penicheiro of the Monarchs in the Hoop-It-Up ... and Byron Scott of the Nets coaches the East. That the recognition comes a season and a half after he left the Kings for the No. 1 in the Meadowlands is nothing compared to the rapid escalation of New Jersey itself, or of the bigger-picture destiny.

The drumbeats that Scott should replace Rick Adelman