Apr 28, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis (11) during game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Miami won 88-77. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wait – actual basketball news around this place? And you thought we forgot about that topic.

With a hat tip to Aykis Yerocostas, this morning we’ve learned that the prospective ownership group hoping to keep the Kings in Sacramento is doing more than just attempting to keep the team local – they’re already involved in basketball operations.

Well, sort of.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that if the Sacramento Kings are unable to retain the services of former Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans (who is a restricted free agent), they may look into Monta Ellis who apparently almost came to blows with teammate Larry Sanders after a recent loss.

Per Berger:

Oddly, a member of the proposed ownership group trying to keep the Kings in Sacramento has done some background checking on Ellis as a possibility for the Kings if the team decides to part ways with restricted free agent Tyreke Evans this summer, a league source involved in the discussions said.

Fantastic! Keeping the Kings in Sacramento and we’re already back to bad basketball decisions.

In all fairness, the rumor – if you can even call it that, needs to be taken with a hefty grain of salt as the ownership group doesn’t even have control of the franchise yet, so talking about potential roster moves is a bit pre-mature. Still – legit rumor or not, it’s pretty high on the vomit scale.

Ellis holds an early termination clause in his contract where he can either become a free agent this Summer or remain a Buck for one more season at an $11 million dollar cost.

Feb 19, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings point guard Tyreke Evans (13) controls the ball against the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Just a few short days ago, the Kings were widely expected to shut down the power to their front office for today’s NBA Trade Deadline but after a late afternoon move that sent out their top five pick in Thomas Robinson, all bets are off.

Wanting to get a piece of the sad firesale, teams are frantically calling the Kings, doing their best to pry away any talent they can.

For the Boston Celtics, that talent is Tyreke Evans. The C’s have inquired about the former NBA Rookie of the Year according to a handful of sources with the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones breaking it first.

Evans, who’s yet to regain the form that made him the Rookie of the Year has played relatively well for the Kings this season, at least statistically, though the former Memphis Tiger continues to struggle with the mental aspect of the game.

Tyreke will also enter this upcoming free agency as a restricted free agent and the Kings have been vocal about their desire to extend him at a number he’d feel comfortable with, so might they finally pull the trigger that has been long rumored? Stay tuned at A Royal Pain as we’ll keep you updated on all of the happenings throughout the day.

Update:

Jason Jones says he’s told Evans will not be moved, at least not today.