More and more NBA teams are looking to add valuable pieces to their roster without spending an excess of cash.

That's why Ronnie Price is in the mix with the Kings.

Price grew up in Friendswood, Texas, and went undrafted in this year's Draft.  But the night of the Draft, Price received a call from the Kings, offering him a spot on their summer league team.  He will be on the Kings' squad as the team takes on the visiting Charlotte Bobcats tonight.  

He has only has played 14 minutes so far, but his teammates and coaches see promise.

"He's very explosive and quick and he can shoot," says Kings point guard Jason Hart. "He's going to be good. When he gets out there, he'll get some confidence, that's all. He's got everything else."

Peja Stojakovic underwent X-rays on his right hand after Sunday's loss to the Sonics that indicated a slightly sprained right pinky finger, the Sacramento Bee reports.

Greg Ostertag probably wasn't expecting it, but he received a relatively warm ovation when he was introduced in Arco Arena on Tuesday. Then again, Ostertag said he felt the same way.

"People treated me great here," the Jazz center said of his first game in Sacramento since being traded by the Kings back to Utah in July. "I wish I could have played more, but I never had any complaints about how nice everyone was to me."

That's why the 7-foot-2 center said he didn't want to beat the Kings any more than he wants to win any night. "It's not a personal thing. I don't have a vendetta against anyone. It just didn't work out," Ostertag said of his single season in Sacramento, the worst of his 10-year career. "Guys who feel that way usually think they've been wronged. But I was never treated badly."

It had been less than a day since agent David Bauman talked to his client, Peja Stojakovic.

When last they spoke, Stojakovic's only concern regarding his Kings team was how to speed up its slow start. Yet Bauman's cell phone was suddenly ringing nonstop on Monday, with word spreading that Stojakovic was a requesting a trade.

"My first reaction was, "What the (...) is going on?" Bauman said.

"So I called Peja and wanted to find out if anything had happened in the last 24 hours since we'd talked."

What had happened was an Arlington Heights Daily Herald story which stated that "rumors persist that? Stojakovic wants a trade to the Bulls or is hoping to sign here as a free agent next summer."

The report prompted various NBA Web sites to circulate the speculation that Stojakovic - who asked for a trade before last season - wanted out again. Bauman, though, said that couldn't be more false.

"We categorically deny that we're asking for a trade," Bauman said.

"We haven't discussed free agency at all in the past two months. It's the furthest thing from his mind. I know he just wants to get the team right. These kinds of false rumors, it's almost like they're designed to cause turmoil.

"I guess that's what they need to do to get people to click on their web sites, but I really resent people printing rumors as fact. I can tell you we had nothing to do with it."

When asked about the report on Monday, Stojakovic said, "I can't control what the papers (do), or what somebody is going to write. It's going to be what it's going to be. I can't really say what's going to happen (in the offseason)."

The Sacramento Kings were fined $30,000 by the NBA on Monday for showing derogatory images of Detroit on video screens prior to their home opener against the Pistons.

When the Pistons were introduced Nov. 8, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit. The Pistons won the game 102-88.

The Kings apologized that night and owners Joe and Gavin Maloof bought full-page ads that ran in The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, expressing "great respect for Detroit's long and rich tradition as a landmark American city and the incredibly positive impact the Motor City has made over the course of our country's history."

Rumors persist that Sacramento?s Peja Stojakovic wants a trade to the Bulls or is hoping to sign here as a free agent next summer.

But Luol Deng?s upside makes acquiring another small forward a difficult call.

Stu Jackson visited Arco Arena on Friday night, with the NBA's senior vice president of basketball operations explaining he was in town for his annual visit.

That it came the same week the Arco overhead video showed images of Detroit looking like a battered and beaten city during Pistons introductions Tuesday was a coincidence, Jackson said. He said he hasn't viewed the video (and there is no update overall from the NBA on potential fines).

But Jackson did say the NBA has warned the Kings about players' shorts being a tad too long. Rules stipulate shorts must be at least be two inches above the knee.

"We try to work with the teams on this," Jackson said. "If they don't comply, we take action."

The Philadelphia 76ers, for example, were fined $5,000 for excess sag this week. Other teams also have been warned.

According to the Sacramento Bee, reserve forward Kenny Thomas was part of trade talks in late October, when the Kings pursued veteran swingman Desmond Mason. Instead, Mason - who averaged 17.5 points with Milwaukee in the 2004-05 season - was sent from the Bucks to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for center Jamaal Magloire, an unconditional first-round pick in 2006 and cash.

Thomas was the Kings' returning starter until the 11th hour of the preseason, when newly acquired Shareef Abdur-Rahim won the job. Before this season, he had started in 243 of 285 games since the 2001-02 season, and made his preference clear that he's more comfortable in that role.

In four games of coming off the bench, Thomas is off to a slow start, shooting 35.3 percent while averaging 4.5 points and 16 minutes per game. His production is key for a bench that has been as sluggish as any in the league, scoring an average of 17.3 points thus far.

Although the Sacramento Kings apologized Wednesday for displaying negative images of Detroit during pregame introductions, the NBA began an investigation into the incident that could result in fines.

Before the Pistons beat the Kings, 102-88, Tuesday night at Arco Arena in Sacramento, fans were shown a montage of negative images of Detroit on the scoreboard above center court. They included abandoned buildings, boarded-up houses, burned cars and piles of construction rubble.

Pistons players said they hadn't paid attention to the video display. But when they heard about it, they weren't happy.

"I still have a lot of pride," guard Chauncey Billups said. "That's where I live. That's my home now. I still have a lot of pride in that city. I love that city. I'm always going to defend the city of Detroit."

Pistons coach Flip Saunders said the incident fired up the coaching staff for the game. Wednesday, after hearing from the owners of the Kings, he cooled down a bit.

"Their organization has always been very first-class," Saunders said. "Opening night, sometimes they get really excited about trying to do some things, and some of their people, they just really weren't quite thinking all the way. They overstepped their bounds a little bit."

Kings president John Thomas saw the video for the first time live from his seat.

By halftime, he had pulled the tape for a private screening and began the process of finding out how it happened. By Wednesday afternoon, the Kings had purchased full-page newspaper ads to issue a direct apology to Detroiters.

"The Sacramento Kings sincerely apologize to (Pistons owner) Mr. Bill Davidson, the entire Pistons organization, the fans, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and the people of the great city of Detroit," the ad - which appears in Thursday's Detroit News and is scheduled to run in Friday's Detroit Free Press - reads in part.

Thomas also e-mailed Pistons president Tom Wilson to offer his plea, and Gavin and Joe Maloof - the brothers who own the Kings - called Saunders to offer an apology.

"This isn't the way we do things," Thomas said. "I can tell you that after this grievous error, we have deep, deep regret. We're reviewing all our systems so that this will not happen in the future."

When the Detroit Pistons were introduced before Tuesday night's game, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed images of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars - nearly every outdated, offensive stereotype of their hometown.

Most of the Pistons didn't see the display, but they went out and wrecked the Sacramento Kings' home opener anyway.

Tayshaun Prince scored 25 points while making 10 straight shots, and the Pistons emphatically snapped an eight-game losing streak in Sacramento with a 102-88 victory.

The Kings quickly apologized for the scoreboard montage, and the Detroit players didn't hear about it until they got dressed in their locker room after an impressive victory - their first in Sacramento since Feb. 26, 1996.

"To do something like that, it's embarrassing," said Detroit coach Flip Saunders, who saw the video. "It's not called for. There's no excuse for that. Whoever did that owes us an apology. ... I know the Maloofs pretty well, and they've always been nothing but classy. I'm sure they didn't have anything to do with that."

John Thomas, the president of Maloof Sports and Entertainment, claimed he didn't know who was responsible for the video, but promised immediate discipline.

"It was a terrible mistake," Thomas said. "That's not how we do things. We apologize to the great Detroit organization and to the city of Detroit. ... There's no explanation. It was a mistake, and it won't happen again."

The Pistons played with plenty of motivation even though they didn't see the show. Chauncey Billups had 16 points and eight assists, and Richard Hamilton added 21 points and six rebounds as Detroit (4-0) extended the club's best start since 1996.

"I just heard about it," Billups said. "I wasn't really paying attention. That's cold. Bet they won't do that again."