"The Kings are determined to re-sign Thornton and will likely do so, even as his agent, Tony Dutt, told SI.com this week that Thornton's former team, New Orleans, is among "four or five" interested clubs."

"One final note on the Kings: Don't hold your breath for that spending spree I mentioned the other day. When the initial version of the tentatively agreed upon collective bargaining agreement had the new minimum payroll at 85 percent of the salary cap as opposed to the previous 75 percent, that meant the Kings would have to spend about $17 million to reach the salary floor. But according to a memo from union executive director Billy Hunter obtained by SI.com on Wednesday, the floor wound up being set at 80 percent for this season (and 85 next season and 90 percent thereafter), so the financial mark the Kings must hit is subsequently less. What's more, the fact that each team's payroll isn't determined until the end of the season means the Kings could operate under the payroll floor during much the season as long as they add enough salary at some point to make up the difference. If not, the amount in which they come up short must be evenly distributed to the team's current players."