Ain't this a tidy little mess? The fact that this rumor is out there, published by the man who's been more accurate on Kings personnel matters over the last six years than anyone else, is damning enough. I speak for myself and not the other front page writers of Sactown Royalty, and I certainly don't speak for the community as a whole. This is not an echo chamber, and I appreciate that there is a spectrum of opinions on everything Kings, from the arena deal to the parade of coaches to the big boss himself.

But for me, this is coddamn sickening.

If this is real, the atom collider that is our front office has spun out of control. Geoff Petrie is an amazing politician. He has largely ducked all levels of accountability for the fine situation this franchise finds itself in, with only a slice of his excuses seeming valid. Sure, he's been strapped by the financial difficulties of ownership. No one denies that. But if Petrie didn't like playing by the rules, he wouldn't have a) signed a three-year extension in late 2009 and b) taken a steep discount to do so. Petrie entered the 2009-10 season with the club already knee-deep in the thrift era … and he chose to stick around for a discount. Complaints from his camp that Petrie's hands have been tied should be judged accordingly.

Evans' rookie success saved Petrie's reputation, if not his job. (The Maloofs are so unpredictable that we'll never know that if the 2009-10 Kings had started the way they finished whether Petrie would have been kept. His contract was set to expire on June 30, 2010, before the contract extension was inked in December 2009.) And now, it's on to the next flavor. I can't fault Petrie for caring more about Cousins than Evans at this point — it's a rational move, and the instinct for self-preservation is strong — but the apparent haste to abandon that which gave the team life is just … bizarre.