The Kings fired interim coach Kenny Natt on Thursday in the wake of a 17-win season, according to the Associated Press.

Natt was promoted to the position after Sacramento fired Reggie Theus in the middle of the season, and went 11-47 with the club.

The Kings will have their fourth different coach when the 2009-10 season begins since they fired Rick Adelman in 2006.

A story in the Sacramento Bee claims that former Cavaliers and Grizzles coach Mike Fratello is a candidate to become the next coach of the Kings.

Fratello is reportedly among a group of possible replacements for interim coach Kenny Natt that includes Eddie Jordan, Jeff Ruland and John Whisenant.

Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin has made it clear that he will not be apologizing to Kings owner Joe Maloof about the hard foul against Spencer Hawes earlier this week, the Associated Press is reporting.

"Apologize to him? I'm not apologizing to him. I apologized to Spencer after the game, but before he opens his mouth he needs to know what's going on," Martin said.

The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday that Maloof called Martin's actions "thuggery" and said Martin "needs to apologize to Spencer and our organization."

Martin, according to the report, was taken aback over Maloof's criticism and demand for an apology.

"I'm not apologizing to him whatsoever. I don't owe him or the Sacramento Kings an apology," Martin said. "I apologized to the person I needed to apologize to when I saw him when I was leaving the game."

The Kings wrapped up their disappointing season with a win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, but no decision has been made on the status of interim coach Kenny Natt yet.

"A decision hasn't been made," Sacramento president Geoff Petrie said Wednesday night. "That wouldn't be fair to Kenny. Can't there be some dignity in this?"

When asked about his time as the team's coach Natt, who took over for Reggie Theus in December, had a positive outlook.

"I would rate (the season) as a success," Natt said recently, "from the standpoint of our young kids, growing through losses and tough times."

Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, upset that Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin knocked center Spencer Hawes to the floor on a fast break attempt, has asked for an apology.

Hawes, who was pushed to the floor by Martin, converted a pair of free throws before being escorted to the locker room with an injured knee.

"That was thuggery," said Maloof, "and you can quote me on that. Kenyon Martin wasn't trying to block the shot. He went right at Spencer when he was running full speed and at the (height) of his jump, when he was most vulnerable.

"Completely unnecessary. The Nuggets might not want to hear this, but there was no excuse for that, and he (Martin) needs to apologize to Spencer and our organization. That just wasn't right."

An MRI has since revealed no serious damage in Hawes' knee, which has been diagnosed as strained.

Some members of the Kings were annoyed by J.R. Smith's shooting exhibition at the end of Denver's 118-98 victory on Monday night.

Smith scored a career-high 45 points, including 11 three-pointers at the Pepsi Center.

"That's not being professional," Kings guard Bobby Jackson said. "At the end of a game, if a guy's hot, you're already up by 20, sub him out. Get somebody else in there. You just can't do things like that. This league is not about that. It's like they wanted to embarrass us and put on a show. You've got to be respectable. You've got to respect this game. That's not respecting the game."

Smith attempted eight three-pointers in the final seven minutes of the game, with the Nuggets having already locked up a win.

Sacramento guard Kevin Martin won't travel on the team's two-game, season-ending road trip.

Martin has missed six straight games because of a sore left ankle.

"There's been no official announcement on it," coach Kenny Natt said. "You can say he's not traveling with the team. It's important for him to see the doctors and do all of that."

Michael Finley hit a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in regulation to push the Spurs past the Kings, but the ball appeared to leave his hands after the shot clock expired.

"The great ref crew said it counted," said Finley. "So we'll take it."

By NBA rule, referees cannot use replay to reverse a call involving shot clock expiration.

"It looked like the ball was still in his hands," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted afterward.

The deadline deals which bought John Salmons and Brad Miller to Chicago have made the Bulls one of the better teams in the East, according to Chris Colston from USA Today.

Struggling before the deadline, Chicago has gone 11-3, including 9-1 at home, since a March 13 loss to Philadelphia.  The home loss was to the Lakers, who also beat Cleveland and Boston in the same stretch.

Salmons is averaging 19.3 points as a Bull, and Miller has given the team "a post presence that we really didn't have in the past," according to guard Ben Gordon.

According to Ric Bucher from ESPN, the Washington Wizards appear to be favoring former Pistons coach Flip Saunders to take over the head coaching role.

According to Bucher, no deal is in place, but the two sides have had preliminary discussions about the job.

The Wizards fired coach Eddie Jordan during the season, with Jordan's name since being linked with the Sacramento Kings.