The NBA is doing something different than the normal Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Orlando this year. Instead of teams featuring the best rookies and second-year players facing off, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley will each be drafting teams from a pool of the top rookies and second-year players.

The NBA announced the pool today. Only one Sacramento King -- DeMarcus Cousins -- was included, leaving rookies Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette on the outside. Nine players from each class were picked; the rookie guards who made it over Zeke and Jimmer were Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker and MarShon Brooks. Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, Markieff Morris and Derrick Williams also made the cut.

It's really too bad neither of our prominent rookies will make the game (unless there's an injury replacement for the nicked-up Brooks); Cousins, Omri Casspi and Tyreke Evans have been loads of fun in this event. Cousins should be no worse than the No. 4 pick in this game, and would be my pick at No. 2 behind Blake Griffin. See the full pool at SBNation.com.

Kevin Love has been suspended by the NBA for two games after using Luis Scola's face as a stepping stone in the Minnesota Timberwolves' Saturday win over the Houston Rockets. That means that Love will miss the Sacramento Kings' Tuesday visit to Minneapolis, which is pretty irrelevant because Jason Thompson would dominate him regardless, and now will just be forced to dominate Michael Beasley instead.

Love's stomp on Scola's head came a week after the Argentine saved a ball off of Love's sensitive parts. Apparently both feel the need to be deemed the dirtiest scruffy player in the league. Sadly, neither will ever catch the quasi-bearded Tony Allen for the honor.

The Kings visit the 4-20 New Orleans Hornets on Monday, riding a two-game win streak. Should the Kings manage to beat the Hornets and a Loveless Minnesota (how sad does that sound?), they would enter TNT Night with a record of 10-15.

The Kings announced that Hassan Whiteside has been recalled from the D-League's Reno Bighorns. He'll be back in advance of Saturday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

He played 19 minutes a game in 11 games for Reno, averaging 7.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Yep, 33 blocks in 209 minutes, or one every six minutes and 20 seconds of playing time.

Marcus Thornton will be back on the court for the Sacramento Kings on Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Thornton tweeted a message indicating he'd been cleared by doctors after sitting a week-plus with a hematoma on his quad. He'd practiced with full contact on Wednesday, but needed medical clearance Thursday.

Thornton hasn't been terribly consistent in his 14 games this season, but according to the Institute of Small Sample Sizes, the Kings are 5-9 when he plays and 1-6 in his absences. That's quite a difference! There hasn't been word as to whether he'll start at two-guard between Tyreke Evans and John Salmons, but that'd be the expectation.

The Kings host Portland at 7 p.m. Pacific.

According to our friend Jon Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom, Marcus Thornton was on the practice court for the Kings today after being cleared for full contact. Thornton's been out with a quad contusion that turned into a hematoma. He's missed seven full games, and left the last game he played early. You can blame Dwight Howard for the damage.

When Thornton returns, possibly Thursday in Sacramento against the Blazers, the Kings will have a fully available for just the second game of Keith Smart's tenure. Chuck Hayes was injured in Smart's first game at the helm, and returned this past weekend against the Jazz.

The Kings offense hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire since Thornton's absence, and Smart largely stayed away from Jimmer Fredette in the fourth quarter against the Warriors, so it would seem likely that Thornton will land back in the starting five between Tyreke Evans and John Salmons.

A report that surfaced Tuesday in a newspaper blog attributed only to a text message denied our report that the Kings have recently considered replacing Geoff Petrie as the team's president of basketball operations.

[A] report that surfaced Tuesday night (sic) in a fan blog attributed only to sources - that Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof have considered relieving Petrie of his position and have contacted a management agent - has been denied forcefully by Joe Maloof.

"No, this is not true," Maloof texted The Bee. "I had heard about (the rumor). We will be fine. We have had the toughest schedule in the league by far."

That denial was so forceful I believe that Joe Maloof broke the "o" on his Blackberry keyboard. (Seriously, a forceful text message?)

Of course, there was nothing else Maloof could say in response to this question; there's a reason "vote of confidence" is a global sports joke. I stand by our report here and at SBNation.com.

Chuck Hayes left the Sacramento Kings' loss to the Utah Jazz with four seconds after committing an intentional foul with the Kings down three. He tried to wrap up the opponent with his right arm -- it was his left shoulder that was separated and that remains in a stabilizing wrap -- and seems to aggravated something in his shoulder.

Jason Jones reports that Hayes' status will be known today as the club is back in Sacramento for a rare practice. He wasn't wearing a sling as the Kings left the arena.

Hayes didn't score in 20 minutes, but did have eight rebounds and two steals in his first game back. He'd missed 11 games after injuring his shoulder against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 5.

The Sacramento Kings visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, and Chuck Hayes could be back in the rotation, per Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Hayes practiced with the team this week, including before the game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. But he still hasn't been cleared by the medical staff to get on the court, though he and Keith Smart hope he'll be able to get out there in Salt Lake City.

Hayes has been out since Smart's first game as head coach, a home win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Hayes separated his shoulder in that game. Chuckwagon will be wearing a shoulder brace that he compares to a straightjacket when he is back on the court. It's unclear whether he'd immediately replace Jason Thompson in the starting lineup or slide in behind him off of the bench.

Marcus Thornton remains out with a hematoma on his quad.