Having their bid for a new arena rejected more than once by Sacramento voters, Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof have quietly let it be known that they'd like to relocate to Anaheim.

In Orange County, the Maloofs would be closer to their operations in Las Vegas. They already have plans to use an Anaheim location to drive their marketing for their hotel and casino, The Palms. That includes giving high-rollers use of luxury suites for Kings games and also having plenty of signage in the arena for their Vegas enterprises.

The Maloofs can easily afford the franchise transfer fee, which experts say will be at least double the $30 million the Hornets paid the league to flee Charlotte for New Orleans. But the Maloofs will face strong opposition from the Lakers and Clippers, who will fight a third team entering what they consider their backyard.

The Seattle SuperSonics announced today they have acquired Earl Watson, Bryon Russell and a 2008 second-round draft pick from the Denver Nuggets in a four-team, nine-player trade including Portland and Sacramento.

As part of the deal, Denver will receive Seattle?s Reggie Evans and Portland?s Ruben Patterson and Charles Smith. In addition, Seattle?s Vitaly Potapenko and Portland?s Sergei Monia will join Sacramento while Denver?s Voshon Lenard  and Sacramento?s Brian Skinner head to Portland.

?We drafted Earl in 2001 after his solid career at UCLA, and it will be great to have him back with the Sonics,? said Sonics General Manager Rick Sund. ?With his talent, we?ll have a good flow at the point-guard position. We thank Reggie and Vitaly for their hard work over the past few years and wish them the best of luck in Denver and Sacramento.?

As the trade deadline looms Thursday, Kings' GM Geoff Petrie said his best work - and only work - will likely begin and end with the Ron Artest trade that has surely changed his team's season.

"You're always open to looking at (trade possibilities), or what not," Petrie said Wednesday. "It's obviously a period of increased chatter, but if you're looking for the chatter box, you're going to have to go elsewhere.... With us sitting here today, it's very, very unlikely that we'll do anything."

With the trade deadline arriving Thursday, the latest Nuggets trade rumors include a deal sending point guard Earl Watson to Sacramento for shooting guard Bonzi Wells. A move sending Watson and guard Voshon Lenard, who wants to be traded, for Wells would work financially.

Adding Wells, who is averaging 14.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals, could give Denver a much-needed, starting-caliber shooting guard who could get $8 million as a free agent this summer. Wells also has a good relationship with Nuggets assistant Tim Grgurich, who coached him at Portland.

Word is the Nuggets could still acquire Orlando guard Steve Francis in a three-way trade that includes New York and send injured Nuggets forward-center Nene to Orlando and Watson to the Knicks. The deal would not include Denver forward Kenyon Martin.

Prosecutors have dismissed criminal charges against one of the fans involved in a brawl that broke out among Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004.

William Paulson, 27, of Grand Blanc, had been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, but Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton said Friday that videotape from the Nov. 19, 2004, incident and statements from witnesses showed that Paulson was merely defending a friend against then Pacers player Ron Artest.

The brawl started after Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace shoved Artest following a hard foul. After they were separated, Artest was doused with a beverage, rushed into the stands and began beating a man he thought had thrown the drink at him.

The only case still pending is that of John Green, 41, of Oakland County's West Bloomfield Township, Walton told The Oakland Press of Pontiac. Green, who is accused of lobbing the cup that ignited the fracas, is scheduled to stand trial next month on two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson didn't delve too deep into the topic of his team's interest in Kings forward Ron Artest last month, but he did give some indication as to the value Atlanta places on free agent to be Al Harrington.

"Anytime you put a player on the (trading) block such as Artest, it opens a lot of eyes," Woodson said. "Al Harrington's name kept coming up. We like Harrington, and that's one reason we weren't willing to pull the trigger."

Not that Woodson doesn't appreciate Artest's game, or how he can impact the Kings.

"What he brings is toughness," Woodson said. "I like (Sacramento's) personnel. I think they have a really talented team. When they get Bonzi (Wells back from injury), that's scary. They've got a ton of talent."

Multiple Don Nelson associates informed ESPN.com that the 65-year-old has dropped hints about a willingness to take another job after sitting out the rest of this season. A couple of those same associates say it won't happen unless someone out there offers Nelson an annual salary of at least $5 million, but you can be certain someone will.

He's officially a Mavericks consultant these days, but Avery Johnson's Mavs don't consult Nelson for much. This is also the final season on Nelson's multi-year contract which pays him $5 million. His salary drops closer to a more consultant-like $1 million (and change) starting next season, which is why a new gig would shock no one who knows him.

Media types in the Bay Area are already tossing out Nelson's name as an ideal successor to Mike Montgomery in Golden State, given that the Warriors haven't been to the playoffs since Nelson's last full season there in 1993-94. Nelson will also be mentioned as a candidate in Seattle -- barring the re-hiring of the recently promoted Bob Hill -- because of Nelson's longstanding friendship with Sonics general manager Rick Sund.

But Marc Stein is betting on Sacramento.

Nelson remains undeniably close with Warriors vice president Chris Mullin, but that alone isn't enough to legitimize the link. Team sources, for starters, insist that reports of friction between Montgomery and star guard Baron Davis are a media creation. Yet even if the Warriors continue to fade and miss the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, Nelson can't be considered a serious contender to take over in Oaktown unless his relationship with Warriors owner Chris Cohan is mended. Don't forget that Cohan's messy 1995 parting with Nelson was not wrapped up until 1999, when an NBA arbirtator ruled that Nelson could keep $1.6 million that Cohan expected him to repay after Nelson was hired to coach the Knicks.

When Ron Artest finally got a chance to bang against his new teammates for the first time in a Saturday practice, he came away just as bruised as those on the receiving end.

And he came away with something else. The new Kings forward found that he may not be the only tough guy in the house.

"I thought, They've got some bodies on this team, the potential to put a hurt on some teams, to intimidate," Artest said, naming off half the roster. "And Bonzi (Wells) is huge at the two position. Man, we've got some tools here."

Wells would second that. Before he went down with a partial groin tear that sidelined him for 19 games, Wells was the Kings' most energized and frenetic performer, not at all afraid of contact or to chase down a rebound.

Now, with Tuesday's showing against the Denver Nuggets an indicator, he has a running mate in Artest with similar motors, with plenty more room on the hustle bandwagon. In Wells and Artest, the Kings have a muscle-bound 1-2 punch, defenders who can check players of different sizes and skills.

"Put me and Ron out there, and we're two of the biggest guys around," Wells, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound shooting guard, said after the Kings polished off the Nuggets 98-91. "We combine for 500 pounds. We're trying to be a load for everyone. There were times before (Artest was acquired) when I felt like I was the only guy who could guard (the other team's top players). Now he can guard a guy, and then I can take over."

Guard Bonzi Wells returned to the Sacramento Kings' lineup Tuesday night after a 19-game absence with a torn muscle in his groin, but center Brad Miller will be sidelined for at least a week with a broken right thumb.

Wells, acquired in a trade with Memphis last summer, averaged 15.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game before getting injured Dec. 19 in a loss at Charlotte. Second-year guard Kevin Martin replaced him in the starting lineup, scoring at least 20 points in six of his starts.

But Miller, a two-time All-Star, was hurt in the finale of the Kings' six-game road trip Sunday in Toronto. He's expected to miss at least three games while recovering from the minor break near the tip of his finger.