Martin McNeal of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings are keeping all channels open. The luxury tax may penalize teams for over spending, but it also allows teams to find bargains in the free agent market. Hence the team's recent conversations with a number of free agents, such as athletic versatile forwards Keon Clark, who last season played with Toronto, and Donyell Marshall, who played with Utah.

Geoff Petrie, the Kings' president of basketball operations, said the team is always looking at which players are available. "We're always going to be monitoring these situations," Petrie says of a crop of talented free agents who have been unable to command the types of dollars they once expected.

"The standing operating procedure is to at least call people and see what they are doing," Petrie said Saturday. "You can always assume we're going to do that."

Earlier this week, Petrie said no deals were imminent for the Kings. "There is nothing marching toward the watchtower," he said Thursday. Saturday, Petrie kidded, "The fog still hasn't lifted from that watchtower."