The Charlotte Bobcats traded their best player, Gerald Wallace, to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, and their best center -- Kwame Brown be damned -- in Nazr Mohammed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That bodes well for the Sacramento Kings, who visit Charlotte at 4 PM Pacific Friday. The Bobcats got Joel Przybilla in the deal for Wallace, and Mo Peterson and D.J. White in the Mohammed trade. I'm not sure any of them will play, leaving Charlotte a bit more light than usual in terms of talent.

Marcus Thornton will be available, however, and wearing No. 23. It's unclear how much he'll play; I imagine that unless Jermaine Taylor goes off again, Paul Westphal will turn to M.T. early, just to get the kid some confidence. I'm eager to see him from our new point-of-view.

DeMarcus Cousins will match up with Kwame, with Samuel Dalembert coming off the bench and hoping to punish the thin Charlotte frontcourt. The Bobcats don't shoot many threes (good news for Sacramento), but D.J. Augustin and Stephen Jackson can maim opposing guards. Beware! Boris Diaw and Jason Thompson might be the best match-up in terms of ha-has, if only because they are oddly similar.

Game threads at 4 and 5:30. Let's go Kings.