Former Kings center Vlade Divac, whose No. 21 will be retired during halftime of Sacramento's game against New Orleans on Tuesday night, helped paved the way for foreign-born players.

"That was the group that demonstrated that (foreign) players could play at the highest level," NBA Commissioner David Stern said of Sarunas Marciulionis, Sasha Volkov, Zarko Paspalj, Drazen Petrovic and Divac. "They're the ones who broke through, who became the precursors for what you see today."

After seeing Bulls' guard John Salmons put on another strong show against his Pacers on Saturday, coach Jim O'Brien had nothing but praise for the ex-King.

?The best trade of the year,? Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said, referring to the deal which saw Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden go to Sacramento for Salmons and Brad Miller.

According to the Associated Press, Salmons hit four of seven 3-pointers - including two late with the game in the balance - and reached the 20-point mark for the 11th time since the trade.

While speaking to a reporter from Ol?, Andres Nocioni raised questions about the direction of Kings and left open the possibility that he would like to be traded this summer if the situation did not improve.

"The concern about this is about what the people who are going to support an arena and support the team think about me," Nocioni said in a phone interview Wednesday night with the Sacramento Bee. "This is my concern. (That) and my teammates. That's it.

"I don't want the people of Sacramento to think I'm the kind of guy who likes to complain, that I don't want to compete, or that I'm here to be here for (two) months and then want (to be traded). If this (team) is going to be competitive in the next couple (of) years ? I want to be here."

With the 2008-09 season winding down, Sacramento coach Kenny Natt has made a pitch to remain with the club.

"I think I've done everything management has asked me to do," Natt said Friday. "Obviously we would love to have had more victories along the way. No one wants to lose. But I think I've done a great job of playing the young guys, making them better, instilling the discipline that they need as young guys to become better pros, professionals in this league, playing the right way, just instilling a lot of the things I've learned along the way as an assistant coach.

"I think we've made great strides since I've taken over. It's just a matter of having an opportunity to reap the benefits of it."

Kings guard Bobby Jackson has decided to skip surgery on his broken cheekbone, and he will play on Saturday against the 76ers.

Jackson decided to skip the surgery in order to finish what could be his final season with the Kings, according to coach Kenny Natt.

"I'm not surprised," Natt said. "I'm only surprised that the doctors didn't talk him out of it. I guess Bobby wants to play the rest of the season."

The Kings defeated the Knicks 121-94 on Friday night, marking their first win of the season against an Eastern Conference foe.

Sacramento had been 0-28 against the East heading into the battle at Madison Square Garden.

"From the standpoint of knowing that our guys have been battling all year, gone through what we've gone through, and regarding being in the Garden and the tradition here and the spirit that these guys played [with], it's a very good ballclub here we beat tonight," Sacramento coach Kenny Natt said. "To see these guys really step up to the challenge, coming in here at the end of a road trip, it's monumental."

Kevin Martin led the Kings with 30 points on 9-for-15 shooting.

Kings guard Bobby Jackson could play again this season despite the fact that he'll have surgery to repair a broken cheekbone on Friday.

"From what I understand, Bobby wanted to come on this road trip," Kings coach Kenny Natt said. "He has been a leader in that (toughness) category."

During the 2003 playoffs, Jackson suffered a fractured cheekbone and played two days later.

Kings guard Bobby Jackson suffered a broken cheekbone late in the team's overtime loss to Cleveland on Friday, the Associated Press is reporting.

The team announced Monday that he would need surgery.

The Kings say Jackson's playing status for the rest of the season will be determined after the operation Friday at UC Davis Medical Center.

There is growing concern in the Kings organization that if their arena issue isn't resolved, they could end up leaving Sacramento for Anaheim, according to a league executive.

Anaheim, which has successfully hosted Lakers exhibition games and Clippers regular-season tilts, has wanted a team of their own for quite some time.

The Lakers and Clippers, however, could challenge the league for territorial rights fees, with Anaheim being one of their major supporting markets.

When he isn't registering triple doubles, LeBron James is dropping 50.

According to the Associated Press, James finished Friday night against Sacramento with 51 points, but more importantly locked up the Central Division crown for his Cleveland Cavaliers with a 126-123 overtime win.

Coming into the game James had registered three consecutive triple doubles.

"It's been 33 years, way before I was born," James said. "We put up a banner, that's Central Division champs. That's something we can be very proud of doing."