Sacramento Kings head coach Rick Adelman, whose career coaching record of 658-411 makes him one of 18 NBA coaches in the 600-win club, has one year left on his contract, with an additional year at the club?s option.

?I?ve asked for another year,? Adelman said. ?I think they should pick up my option year, I really do. I think my staff and I have done everything we could do, but there?s nothing I can do about it. It makes it more difficult (to be in a lame-duck situation), but you don?t coach differently. Geoff and I talked briefly about it, and we agreed there was too much else going on now, and we would talk later in the summer about it.?

Petrie likes Adelman, professionally and personally. But it?s a business, and at some point, almost every coach takes the fall.

?Rick is a very good coach, the best coach for our team right now,? says Petrie, who has two years left on his contract. ?Our owners have been terrific to work for. At some point, everyone?s tour of duty comes to an end. I don?t know when that will be, for either Rick or me, but it?s the nature of the business.

Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent Anthony Peeler to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

?Anthony Peeler is an established veteran and a very solid player,? said Grunfeld. ?He is a proven perimeter shooter, a hard-nosed defender, and brings significant playoff experience to our young roster.?

The 6-4, 208 pound guard, has averaged 10.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists over his 12 year NBA career, shooting 38% from three point range and has appeared in 50 playoff games. Last season, Peeler led the NBA in three point shooting with a .482 average.

Peeler was originally drafted out of the University of Missouri by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 15th overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft

Peja Stojakovic said Wednesday he will not play for Serbia and Montenegro at the Athens Olympics, depriving the defending world champions of their best perimeter scorer. The three-time NBA All-Star with the Sacramento Kings, said his decision is irreversible ? even though people in his homeland are urging him to change his mind.

"No way. I already spoke with the team officials. We talked about it, and it's done," Stojakovic told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I'm not going to go."

Stojakovic will be in Greece during the Olympics, fulfilling the end of a three-month stint in the Greek army. He holds duel citizenship in Greece and Serbia and Montenegro.

Stojakovic said he planned to watch the games with friends from the beach in Thessaloniki, where he keeps a home. Stojakovic's girlfriend, who also lives there, is expecting a baby in two to three weeks.

"I've played for the national team for six years," he said. "Every summer there is something going on ? the world championships, the European championship, the Olympics. I just felt tired."

Rodney White spent last year with the Denver Nuggets and knows that he must leave that exciting young franchise, with the plethora of good frontcourt players they have on their roster.  He is reportedly being contacted by both the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings.  Both are playoff teams with lofty expectations this coming year.

Sacramento Kings star Small Forward Peja Stojakovic voiced his displeasure with the direction the Kings are headed in a recent interview in his home country of Serbia and Montenegro with B92, historically the most trusted news source in the country.

He appears to be unhappy with the fact that the Kings refused to pay his teammate Vlade Divac the money needed to keep him in Sacramento and also addresses what appeared to be him being singled out by teammate Chris Webber for the dissapointing way the season ended in a post-game press conference.

B92: Now that Vlade has left, Sacramento's game will surely change. Do you see yourself in a Kings uniform, or would you like to go to another team?

Peja: Vlade's signing with L.A. is more business than basketball. He did what was best for him, and Kings management did what was best for them... I spent six great years with Vlade. I would say he is the best teammate I've had in my career, a good friend. I wish him all the best. He will probably try to end his NBA career with the team he started it with.

As for me, I don't really know if I'd like to stay with the Kings. It's obvious that this team needs a change, a fresh start, new faces. Will there be a change in the starting five, or the second string, I don't know. Those things are done secretly in the NBA, and us players find out only after we're traded.

I've already said that I was disappointed with Divac's departure because he gave so much to the Kings and helped put Sacramento on the basketball map. I'm disappointed because he wasn't given the chance to finish his career here. I told Kings management that they handled Vlade's situation badly, because he helped bring this team off of the ground. Again, the NBA is more business than basketball.

B92: What is your reaction to the way last season ended and Chris Webber's comments about a few players not giving the effort he expected? Or do you not want to comment?

Peja: Every player expressed their insecurities after the season ended. I don't know what to say. I don't want to point my finger at any single player. I think we've achieved a lot in the past four or five years, and no player should be singled out in victory or loss. I think we've had greater losses than those of the previous season.

I think the window for this team is closing and because of that I say that change is needed. I don't think it's necessary to talk about who said what. No one wanted to lose. That is the past, and we are going forward and awaiting the start of the next season.

David Bluthenthal, the 6-7 American-Israeli Small Forward from Maccabi Tel Aviv has been approached by the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs according to an interview with the player himself on YNet, one of the top internet sites in Israel.  

Bluthenthal says that several teams have contacted his agent Michael Siegel about their interest in his services for next year, including the Spurs, Kings and Dynamo Moscow, the free spending Russian team that has signed Lynn Greer, Ariel McDonald, Maurice Evans, Mirsad Tuckcan and others this summer with their brand new ten million dollar budget.

Bluthenthal is coming off an excellent summer league campaign in the Southern California Summer Pro League where he averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 steals on 54% shooting from behind the arc with the Sacramento Kings. He says he will wait for more offers this upcoming week from various teams before deciding on a final destination. He would not rule out returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv at this point.

Bluthenthal was identified as one of the top overseas free agents on the market 3 weeks ago by RealGM affiliate DraftCity.com. While he looked like the biggest longshot of anyone on that list to make the NBA this summer, he could be the first and possibly only one to actually make it (Andres Nocioni is still working on his buyout from his contract with TAU Vitoria in order to sign with Chicago).

Here is what DraftCity had to say about him:

Bluthenthal is yet another Maccabi player who has a chance at being signed by an NBA team for next season. He will be playing with the Sacramento Kings summer league and has an outside chance of actually making the team considering the Kings? offense and style of play and the fact that they don?t have a backup small forward. He might even remind them a little of Jim Jackson (today?s version). Unlike Anthony Parker, Bluthenthal actually has a great skill that can be counted on consistently off the bench?he is a tremendous outside shooter--he?s very pure--and he showed that especially well during the final four in Tel Aviv, where he hit 4 threes in 16 minutes off the bench in the final game to finish with 20 points for the game. He isn?t the quickest, most athletic player in Europe right now, and probably lacks the ball-handling skills and explosiveness to be able to create his own shot, but if a team is looking for a smart player who can rebound, post up his man in the paint and flat out shoot the ball, Bluthenthal might be their guy.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Kings re-signed forward Darius Songaila Friday, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

?I?m looking forward to having Darius back next season,? Petrie said in a news release. ?He proved himself to be a solid contributor for our team last season. I feel he has a great future in the league. I?m looking forward to him continuing to help us succeed. I think that his game and contribution will continue to grow with our team.?

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a multiyear contract with key backup Fred Hoiberg on Friday.

Hoiberg averaged 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 79 games, including a career-best 46.5 percent shooting. He was especially valuable when Wally Szczerbiak spent much of the season on the injured list.

Last season was his first with the T-Wolves after stints with Indiana and Chicago.

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SALT LAKE CITY - Free agent Jarron Collins re-signed with the Utah Jazz on Friday.

The 6-foot-11 center has spent all three of his NBA seasons in Utah, which picked him in the second round in 2001 out of Stanford.

Collins has started 103 of the 176 games he?s played for the Jazz. He missed much of his second season with a knee injury, but came back last season and took over the starting job when Greg Ostertag struggled with inconsistency down the stretch.

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According to Utah TV station KSL Greg Ostertag is venturing away from the Jazz after nine seasons and will sign a contract with the Sacramento Kings tomorrow.

Ostertag became expendable once the Jazz signed big men Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer to offer sheets, and re-signed their own Jaron Collins.

A press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow.

Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting that Vlade Divac has made up his mind.  He is going to be a Laker.

"I called them and said, 'Let's do it,' " said Divac.

Divac is expected to take the Lakers' full mid-level exception to return to the team which drafted him back in 1989.  According to ESPN he may sign as early as Tuesday, ending his six year reign with the Sacramento Kings.

"I had a great time here. This is a community that I've always be a part of me. The people [of Sacrament] are wonderful. They made me an even better player, just like L.A. did in my first seven years."

Free agent Center Vlade Divac says he's close to signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It looks like right now I'm definitely leaving Sacramento," Divac said in a phone interview, after a meeting with Kings officials earlier Sunday confirmed to the 36-year-old that his current team won't be increasing its offer of $2.5 million for next season.

"After the season, if you asked me who's the favorite, I would always say the Kings. In my mind I thought I was going to stay here. The town and the fans ... it's been a beautiful six years. I feel sad leaving, but [the Kings] didn't show any kind of interest to keep me here. I was ready to come back to stay here for less, but a little bit [less], not such a big difference."

"If you ask me right now," Divac added, "it's going to be the Lakers."

"A friend of mine said it would be kind of nice to finish with the team I started with," Divac said. "If I do go back to the Lakers, it will be because of Dr. [Jerry] Buss. We've always had a great relationship."