The Maloofs, owners of the Kings, recently had a conversation with President Barack Obama about the game of basketball and the upcoming NBA Draft.

"He said he had heard about the suites," Phil Maloof said of the families' Hardwood Suites at the Palms hotel-casio in Las Vegas.

"He thought a game of 'HORSE' would be a lot of fun."

George Maloof added that Obama was asked about who Sacramento should take in this year's draft.

"He liked Blake Griffin, of course; (Hasheem) Thabeet from Connecticut and he loved the kid from Memphis -- Tyreke Evans," Maloof added.

Gavin Maloof insists that the Kings will do everything in their power to turn around their recent struggles.

Maloof appeared on KHTK in Sacramento to discuss getting the fourth overall pick, and righting the ship.

"Everybody that's counting us out, well, count us out, you can go ahead and count us out, but don't count out the Maloofs, 'cause we're gonna turn this franchise around," he said.

Maloof also said that there is no reason to be upset over the fact that the Kings didn't land the first overall pick.

"We're gonna get a great player, I mean, we're gonna get a great player. A number four pick in the NBA is tremendous - people should be excited. I'm not mad at all, I'm very excited ... Don't be negative, be positive ... Forget number one, it didn't happen, so forget about it," he said.

The Sacramento Kings will wisely open up their coaching search to include Tom Thibodeau, sources have confirmed to the Boston Herald.

?I have no doubt about that, and he?s been in my locker room for two years, so I should know,? coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday. ?People see him standing up on the sidelines and shouting, and they don?t see his personality like I do when he?s in my office every day. He has a great sense of humor. He?s just a great guy overall.

?In some ways he?s so good defensively that people overlook his overall knowledge. (He) is in charge of the defense but has offensive input. (Fellow assistant) Armond Hill is in charge of the offense but has defensive input. But (Thibodeau) gets almost labeled because of this.?

The Globe and Mail reported Saturday that Jerry Reinsdorf was the front man for Hollywood producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Harry Sloan and that the group would ultimately move the Phoenix Coyotes to Las Vegas.

Bruckheimer has, according to sources, expressed varying degrees of interest in buying into a major-league team, and also has interest in buying the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Eddie Jordan interviewed for the Kings job this week and is set to meet with the Sixers on Friday.

Sources close to Jordan indicate a preference for the Philadelphia job in order for the former Wizards head coach to remain on the East Coast.

"(Ed Stefanski) needs a coach, and I'm a coach that's looking for a job," Jordan told the Associated Press Wednesday night.

Eddie Jordan interviewed with the Kings on Tuesday and Paul Westphal followed suit on Wednesday, but Joe Maloof is in no rush to hire their next head coach.

"I think what's next now is that we've had two wonderful interviews with two very successful guys that have had great success in the NBA, and I think the next step is that (Kings basketball president) Geoff (Petrie) is going to go to Europe (Spain) to see (Ricky) Rubio play in the next couple of days (on Thursday)," Maloof said by phone. "And when he gets back I'm sure we'll get together again - Geoff Petrie and Gavin (Maloof) and I - and discuss what our next step is going to be."

Louisville coach Rick Pitino is denying all rumors that claim he is looking to return to the NBA.

Pitino says there is "absolutely no truth" to the rumors, which have linked him to the Kings' vacant head coaching job.

He released a statement Saturday saying neither he nor his representation has contacted Sacramento about the job.

Pitino added that the rumors are misleading players he is attempting to recruit to Louisville.

The Kings plan to interview Eddie Jordan about a return to the team he coached briefly in the late 1990s, according to the Associated Press.

Jordan, who was fired by the Wizards last November, coached in Sacramento for a little more than a season from March 1997 to 1998.

The Kings fired interim coach Kenny Natt last month after the club finished an NBA-worst 17-65.

Louisville spokesperson Kenny Klein said he spoke to Rick Pitino on Friday morning and there was an indication he would remain as their head coach.

"He's not going to the Sacramento Kings," Klein told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Yahoo! Sports reported on Thursday that Pitino has let Kings ownership know he is interested in a return to the NBA. One league official said the Maloof family was "intrigued," according to the report, but Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof told Yahoo! there have been no discussions with Pitino.

"I think he's a great coach and he's done an unbelievable job at Louisville," Maloof told Yahoo! Sports, "but we haven't talked to him."

Yahoo! Sports has reported that Louisville coach Rick Pitino is a candidate for the Kings job.

Pitino has reportedly let Sacramento's ownership know that he is interested in a return to the NBA. A source claimed that the Maloof family was "intrigued," but Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof told Yahoo! that he has yet to speak with Pitino.

"I think he's a great coach and he's done an unbelievable job at Louisville," Maloof told Yahoo! Sports. "But we haven't talked to him."

Pitino has previously coached the Knicks and Celtics.