Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Bulls? number one priority this summer is to acquire a small forward. Smith says the Bulls will likely target Sacramento forward Hedo Turkoglu, Golden State?s Mike Dunleavy, and Memphis?s Shane Battier.

Smith feels Turkoglu would be the easiest to acquire since the Kings will be hard pressed to give him an extension due to commitments to other players on the team. Instead of losing Turkoglu, who will become a restricted free agent at the end of next season, for nothing, he suggests that the Bulls could offer their number one pick in the draft, assuming it is not in the top 3, Dalibor Bagaric, and a second round pick to acquire the talented forward. Turkoglu is said to be unhappy about losing his job in the rotation to Jim Jackson.

"I know I can't complain too much because attitude is important and it would be stupid of me to get too upset when we are winning," said Turkoglu, averaging seven points in about 18 minutes a game. "I know the people back home [in Turkey]?my parents, the fans?they are wondering what is going on."

Dunleavy could be the next easiest option. While the Bulls seem to be committed to Jay Williams as their future point guard, the present starter is Jamal Crawford. Should the Warriors lose Gilbert Arenas to free agency, point guard would become a need position for the Warriors- who were desperate for Jay Williams last summer. The Bulls could offer Jay Williams in exchange for Dunleavy, solving a logjam at point guard for the Bulls and logjam at small forward for the Warriors.

"I'm happy where I'm at," Dunleavy said. "No matter how poorly I do or how bad things are, this is only my rookie season. As a rookie, I haven't really been able to play through my mistakes. So when it comes time next year or a time after that, I'm going to appreciate playing big minutes. This organization had its reasons for picking me, a lot of reasons that don't have to do with being rookie of the year. They're expecting more things down the road. In the meantime, I'll let everybody else pass their judgments."

Finally, Shane Battier could fit the bill. Jerry West is known for being a guru when it comes to the NBA draft, however, Memphis will lose its selection in this years draft if it isn?t number one overall. They will acquire Houston?s pick, but if they make the playoffs, West is out of the lottery. Chicago could offer its lottery pick, again under the assumption it is not in the top 3, and Marcus Fizer for the Houston pick and Battier.

Battier is becoming one of the NBA?s best shooters and would bring a good defender to Chicago.

"I knew I wouldn't be in the same situation as I was last year, playing 40 minutes, so I wanted to become a very efficient player," Battier said. "The guys on the team and the coaches appreciate what I bring. I just try to come out and be valuable for our team, not just take up space on the floor. I'm a little bit awkward, but I get the job done."

R.E. Graswich of the Sacramento Bee is reporting that the person responsible for defacing Shaquille O'Neal's 20,000 point ball has been identified.

Well, in a way.

Kings season ticket holder Greg Jones says he saw the whole thing happen.

"It was a timeout in the fourth quarter, and the referee put the ball down," Greg said. "There were two guys seated in the front row seats opposite the Kings bench. They were with a boy about nine or 10. One of the guys grabbed the ball and handed it to the boy. I was watching with my wife. I said, 'Hey, that's neat. I'll bet that kid loves this.' Then one of the guys took out a pen and wrote on the ball. My wife and I saw it. A few seconds later, the kid tossed the ball back to the ref."

Greg said he did not know who the culprit was, but that he could pick him out if he saw the game film.

"I'm surprised he doesn't come forward," Greg said. "A lot of people want to shake his hand."

Just when you thought the Sacramento Kings and the L.A. Lakers rivalry couldn't take anymore twists or turns, it did.

After Thursday's game against the Kings, a game in which Shaquille O'Neal surpassed the 20,000 point total for his career, Lakers public relations director John Black went to secure the ball with which O'Neal scored his 20,000th point only to find the ball with a hand written message on it.

The message was written to O'Neal and said "Shaq is an a------."

"Whoever did this," O'Neal said, "shows no class."

The biggest mystery in the whole ordeal is how someone could have written the message without anyone noticing. It is believed that only one ball was used during the game, meaning the person who wrote it had to have written it at halftime or before the tip off.

Kings spokesman Troy Hanson said the team is looking into the incident and that handwriting anylsis of those who could be in contact with the ball and videotapes could be used in the investigation.

"We're taking it very seriously," Hanson said.

While one would think the incident would be a huge ordeal, the Lakers organization is quick to realize that the King's organization is one of class.

"From the Maloofs on down, (Sacramento) is a classy, first-class organization," Black said. "This was one isolated incident, one knucklehead trying to be a smart-(aleck) and trying to be funny, and it does not reflect on the other people in the organization."

O'Neal, who has been one of the most vocal players off the court calling the Kings "Queens" and more recently questioning USA basketball's decision to select Kings point guard Mike Bibby calling him a "Cub Scout", said he would not forget the incident and insinuated he will make the Kings pay should they see them in the playoffs.

"I hope that the Maloof family doesn't condone this type of action," O'Neal said. "If they do condone this, I'll be very disappointed in that organization. But this is something I won't forget, and I'll see you soon."

The Associated Press reports: Shaquille O'Neal is at it again. The self proclaimed "LCL" (last center left) has decided that while he is busy trying to win a fourth NBA title, he should try on a new hat, USA Olympic basketball selection committee member.

Pondering out loud about Olympic team selections, O'Neal came across a name he didn't particularly see fit for USA basketball.

"How did Mike Bibby get on the team?" Shaq wondered aloud. "Any Cub Scout with Boy Scouts can do Boy Scoutish things. When (Bibby) was in the Cub Scouts, he was a Cub Scout. When he was with Vancouver, nobody heard about(him). Now that he's with Sacramento...he's on the team."

"I ain't going (to the Olympics)."

Shaq then moved on to who he felt should be on the team.

"Allen Iverson isn't on the team? Why not?" wondered O'Neal. "(U.S. coach) Larry Brown should have said,'If he's not on the team, I'm not going.'"

So how did Mike Bibby feel about all this attention he was getting from O'Neal?

"I don't care what he says about me," said Bibby. "I don't care what anybody says. It's not going to affect me."

Add's Bobby Jackson "That's just talk from a guy who likes to talk, nobody cares."

Shaq may say he's not going to the Olympics, but we don't have to wait until then for the games to begin. Tonight the L.A. Lakers will face off against the Sacramento Kings in a game many people feel involves the best rivalry in the NBA.

Shaquille O'Neal might not be playing for the USA in the Olympmics, but this did not stop him mouthing off at some of the other selections.

"How the (heck) did Mike Bibby get on the team? ... Any Cub Scout with Boy Scouts can do Boy-Scoutish things," O'Neal said, apparently changing his preferred nickname for the Kings from the "Queens" to the "Boy Scouts." "When he was in Vancouver, nobody knew about (him)."

"Allen Iverson is not on the team; why not?" O'Neal said. "Allen Iverson should be on the team. (Coach) Larry Brown should have said, 'If he's not on the team, I'm not going.' "

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Bobby Jackson and Hedo Turkoglu figured rather than wait for the halftime salsa dancing contest to end, they'd join in on it. They put their hands together and performed their own version for a few seconds along the baseline.

Same carefree Sacramento Kings, and same result.

Jackson scored 17 points off the bench in 25 minutes and the Kings snapped a five-game losing streak to Indiana, defeating the struggling Pacers 107-88 on Sunday night.

``I don't know anything about the salsa,'' Jackson said. ``We're always loose. If you're not loose on this team, you shouldn't be on it. We were just trying to get a laugh. It was a tight game at halftime and we wanted to get the fans in it.''

Chris Webber had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as Sacramento won its fourth straight, and seventh in a row at home, where the Kings have been beaten only five times in 32 games this season.

Indiana, which lost its fourth straight and ninth in a row on the road, played without fiery forward Ron Artest, who was suspended Sunday for one game after accumulating six flagrant foul points, and center Brad Miller. Artest knocked Portland's Bonzi Wells to the floor Saturday night after they collided and bumped heads when Wells was driving for the basket. Miller missed the game with a sore left foot, which he hurt against the Trail Blazers.

Jermaine O'Neal scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half for Indiana, including 10 straight during one run, but left the game with 7:50 to go in the third with what the team called a ``moderately'' sprained left ankle and did not return.

``Their team was short-handed but we've gone places short-handed and won,'' Kings coach Rick Adelman said. ``I told our guys before the game and at halftime, 'I don't care who they don't have, they have guys that can play.'''

Al Harrington had 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Pacers, but was ejected with 41.1 seconds left after getting his second technical of the game. He fouled Sacramento's Gerald Wallace and then kept his arms around Wallace as he pushed him out of bounds. Players and officials had to break them up.

``He snatched my arm away and I was just holding him,'' Harrington said. ``I said 'Calm down.' I didn't try to throw him down. The ref thought I was trying to start a fight. I wasn't going there.''

The Pacers had won three of the past four meetings in Arco Arena, including 97-86 last season. But the Kings are 14-0 against the Eastern Conference at home this season and sent the Pacers to their 10th loss in 11 games. Indiana shot 38.2 percent to Sacramento's 51.8.

Mike Bibby added 17 points and Peja Stojakovic had 14 in another balanced offensive effort by the Pacific Division leaders.

In six minutes in the first half, Jackson was 5-of-6 for 12 points, including Sacramento's first nine of the second quarter.

O'Neal kept the Pacers within striking distance, scoring 10 straight midway through the second. O'Neal's two free throws at 3:20 started a 9-0 run that pulled the Pacers within 52-49 in the final minute of the half. The Kings went nearly three minutes without a field goal, but led 54-49 at halftime and never relinquished the lead.

Indiana has not won on the road since a 102-95 victory at Miami on Jan. 27.

``I thought not having Jermaine, or Brad or Ron was a little too much for us to overcome tonight,'' coach Isiah Thomas said. ``We're starting to compete again.''

Sacramento made 11 of its first 17 shots (64.7 percent) to build a 29-15lead late in the first quarter. Indiana started the game 6-for-18.

Notes

Indiana's nine consecutive road losses is the team's longest streak since dropping nine straight away from home from Feb. 2-March 14 in the 1992-93 season. ... Thomas didn't dispute Artest's suspension, his fourth of the season. ``Clearly it affects our team in a great way,'' Thomas said before the game. ``The penalty was justified. The rules are the rules, and we'll pay the price. I see how the referee could have viewed it that way. I think there were a lot of things leading up to the foul that got him upset.'' ... Turkoglu had nine points and three rebounds in 22 minutes, and Adelman said he expects to play his reserves more down the stretch. In a recent span of five games,Turkoglu played 10 minutes in each.

The Kings are taking this playoff-preparation thing a little too seriously.
For the third time in their past five games, they needed overtime to decide a contest, but at least they continued to get it right.

The Kings won their third consecutive overtime game, 108-105, this time against the Utah Jazz, before a sellout crowd of 19,911 at the Delta Center. The victory was their eighth in their past nine regular-season games over the Jazz.

As any professional athlete will tell you, there's no such thing as a moral victory.

But if there were, Friday's Utah Jazz loss to the Sacramento Kings certainly would qualify.
     
The Jazz pushed the Kings?easily one of the three best teams in today's NBA?into overtime before losing, 108-105, at the Delta Center.
     
While it would be an extreme stretch to say the Jazz ? now 1-2 against Sacramento this season?have the Kings' number, it is more than fair to say they play them as tough as any team in the league.

This one wasn't as controversial as the last time the Sacramento Kings were in town, but the game was every bit as dramatic.

And, unfortunately for the Jazz, the results were the same.

Karl Malone sank a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, but the Kings scored the first seven points in the extra period, then held on for a 108-105 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 19,911 at the Delta Center.

Thumb screws, fingernails on chalkboards and playing overtime with the Kings. Cruelty this heartless ought to be outlawed.
   
A playoff rematch turned into a playoff reminder for the Jazz on Friday, and that's not a pleasant way to spend an evening. As they did three times last April, as they did in their last visit in December, as they constantly seem to do with heartless glee, the Kings strung along the Jazz all night. Always in control but always dangling hope in front of a Delta Center crowd, Sacramento even indulged Utah with an overtime before waltzing away with a knife-in-the-back 108-105 victory.
   
If there were any dogs lying around, the Kings would have kicked them.