Contrary to a published report, Chris Webber says his knee is doing fine.  

"I feel fine," he said Tuesday when asked for a reaction to a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he was considering knee surgery for the second time in 12 months.

Over a year after his surgery to repair a torn meniscus, Webber is calling the report untrue.

Whether or not Webber is merely engaging in positive thinking or is really at 100% remains to be seen.

During a Sacramento charity golf tournament, former Kings players Scott Pollard and Jon Barry were critical about the current state of the organization.  

"You can't get equal value for Peja," Barry said. "But with the two best players on the team in Peja and Webber, if there's truly a rift ... I don't know. You don't want that. I'm sure they're going to try to work it out."

Pollard said "...The challenge is on Chris to do it, and I hope he does it.  When you're the highest-paid player, he should be the leader."

Barry also expressed that the loss of Vlade Divac to the rival Lakers will be a tremendous loss to the team, as he was a key leader, an inspiration and dear friend to Stojakovic.  His departure was the likely springboard for the request Stojakovic has publicly made to be moved.

Unrestricted free-agent Toni Kukoc will sign a one-year contract to return to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kukoc is 35 and has become a key reserve for Milwaukee.  The deal is expected be final next week.  Terms of the contract were not announced.

Kukoc was acquired in a trade that sent forward Glenn Robinson to the Atlanta Hawks in 2002 and has applied his high basketball IQ with positive results as a Buck.

Kukoc put up 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 73 games last season.

"Not only do our players like playing with him, but the community has embraced him," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. "He has a great passion for the game, a great intellect.  He's been through everything in this game. He's a great piece, and one of our focal points in free agency to get done."

Harris has repeatedly said that he was confident of retaining Kukoc.  Entering his 12th NBA season, Kukoc received widespread interest from around the league, including Miami and Sacramento.

Kukoc was in the final year of a contract that paid him $9.1 million.

The talk of Ron Artest going to Sacramento for forward Peja Stojakovic is now a widespread rumor.

But Artest does not want to entertain the idea.

"I was told the rumors about me being traded weren't true, but I haven't spoken to (Pacers president Larry) Bird," Artest said. "I know a lot of Indiana fans don't like it; they don't want me to go. Obviously, it's a business. But everywhere I go, people tell me they are not feeling it."

Stojakovic's recent demand for a trade led to the speculation on a swap of all-stars.

Stojakovic will earn $6.875 million next season, while Artest receives $6.2 million.

Larry Bird and the Pacers are putting their best efforts forward to squash rumors surrounding defensive specialist Ron Artest being involved in trade talk for unhappy King Peja Stojakovic.

Stojakovic has made it no secret that he is upset that Sacramento let longtime friend Vlade Divac leave town and has gone public stating he wants out.  Rumors have since been running rampant that Indiana is one of the teams pushing the hardest for the sharp shooting Euro, offering the Defensive Player of the Year as bait.

"It's all speculation," Bird said. "Peja wanting to be traded has nothing to do with Ronnie. It's all just talk."

"I don't know why people are so quick to assume we'd even be interested in thinking about trading Ronnie," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "The fact is, there are going to be rumors about this and that. If one guy asks to be traded, everybody looks around. Those things just happen."

Artest's name was mentioned as a possibility after Stojakovic's agent, David Bauman, said that Bird had inquired about such a deal in June.

Bird said he had an informal conversation with Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds before the Pacers traded for Altanta's Stephen Jackson.

Larry Bird has quashed the rumors swirling around a proposed trade which would land Peja Stojakovic in Indiana and Ron Artest in Sacramento just as quickly as they started.

"It's all speculation," Bird said. "Peja wanting to be traded has nothing to do with Ronnie. It's all just talk."

The deal would match almost perfectly salary-wise as Artest will receive $6.2-million next season with Stojakovic receiving $6.875.  

"I don't know why people are so quick to assume we'd even be interested in thinking about trading Ronnie," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "The fact is, there are going to be rumors about this and that. If one guy asks to be traded, everybody looks around. Those things just happen."

After putting on an impressive So Cal summer league, the Kings have inked former USC standout, David Bluthenthal, to come off the bench for Peja Stojakovic next season, barring of course, any Pedra trades, expected or unexpected.

"David played really well in the summer, and he's a terrific long-range shooter," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. "He gives us another solid small forward, and signing him isn't related at all to all the Peja stuff. We've been talking to David all summer."

Bobby Jackson has always longed to be a starter and with Mike Bibby at point is isn?t going to happen.  Nearing the end of his contract, Jackson has suggested that the Kings not pick up his option for the 2006-2007 season.

Jerry Reynolds is the Kings' director of player personnel.  He has been around long enough to know when the Kings were down and nobody wanted to be in Sacramento.

It seems the internal squabbling is back again.

Webber has said he wouldn't mind a change, Vlade Divac left for Los Angeles, and now Stojakovic says he wants out.

But Reynolds is not overly concerned.

"It's been six years of a very smooth run," Reynolds said. "We're very fortunate here. There's a bump in the road, maybe some think it's a big bump, because we haven't had that around here. But my guess is in October, everything will be fine. Everyone will be singing 'Kumbaya,' and we'll be fine. None of this really bothers me that much. These things happen."

6-7 American-Israeli Small Forward David Bluthenthal came to terms on a one year deal with the Sacramento Kings today. The contract will be signed on Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by his agent Michael Siegel.

Bluthenthal earned a spot on the roster for next year largely through an excellent summer league campaign with the Kings at Summer Pro league in Long Beach.

Bluthenthal says he is "very excited to sign with the Kings. It's been my dream to play in the NBA since I was 4 years old and now that dream is finally happening."

Bluthenthal will most likely backup Peja Stojakovic for the Kings if they decide not to grant his request to be traded.

Bluthenthal says that "Peja is a great player. I love to win and having Peja on my team would increase my chances of doing that. He needs to do what's right for him, though."

Bluthenthal's former team, European champions Maccabi Tel Aviv, will now be looking for a replacement and is already in contact with Nestor Kommatos, a 6-8 Greek forward that averaged 21 points per game last season for Aris Thessaloniki, according to the Israeli basketball site Salnews.com, who also reported the Bluthenthal signing.

-Jonathan Givony (RealGM/Draftcity.com)