Editing Sacramento Kings (section)

===2006–2009: Change and transition===
In 2006–07, the disappointing play of the Kings was coupled with the distraction of legal troubles. Coach [[Eric Musselman]] pleaded no contest to [[DUI]] charges early in the season, while Artest got into trouble for neglect of his dogs, and was later accused of [[domestic assault]]. The Kings relieved Artest of basketball duties, pending investigation, then later reinstated him. They finished the season 33–49 (their worst in 9 years) which landed them in fifth place in the Pacific Division. They posted a losing record (20–21) at home for the first time since 1993–94. Their season included a seven-game losing streak that lasted from January 4 to 19. The Kings missed the [[2007 NBA playoffs]], the first time in eight seasons. Musselman was fired in April. The Kings' future appeared to rest on the shoulders of [[Kevin Martin (basketball, born 1983)|Kevin Martin]], who was a lead candidate for 2007 NBA Most-Improved Player of the Year.

[[File:kevinmartin.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kevin Martin (basketball, born 1983)|Kevin Martin]] shoots a free throw at a Kings home game.]]
The 2007 off-season was a time of change. Head coach Musselman was replaced by former Kings player, [[Reggie Theus]]. The Kings selected [[Spencer Hawes]] with the 10th overall pick in the [[2007 NBA draft]]. In addition, they acquired [[Mikki Moore]] from the New Jersey Nets. Martin signed a contract worth $55 million, extending his period with the team for five more years. The Kings lost key players over the off-season, with backup Ronnie Price leaving for the Utah Jazz, and Corliss Williamson retiring.

They claimed fourth-year [[Beno Udrih]] off waivers from Minnesota. Udrih quickly assumed the starting position for an injured Bibby. It was announced in February that the Kings had traded Bibby to the [[Atlanta Hawks]] for [[Tyronn Lue]], [[Anthony Johnson (basketball)|Anthony Johnson]], [[Shelden Williams]], [[Lorenzen Wright]] and a 2nd round draft pick. The move was presumably made to clear cap space. Bibby had been the last player from the Kings team that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2002.

The Kings improved by five games and finished the 2007–08 season 38–44 and missed the playoffs by a bigger margin (12 games) than the previous season (8 games). They went 26–15 at home and 12–29 on the road. After selling out every home game since 1999, the 2007–08 season sold out only three games at ARCO Arena with attendance averaging 13,500 fans per home game, almost 4,000 below capacity.

Following a quiet 2008 off-season, it was confirmed on July 29, 2008, that the Kings would trade Artest and the rights to [[Patrick Ewing Jr.]] and [[Sean Singletary]] to the [[Houston Rockets]] in exchange for former King [[Bobby Jackson (basketball)|Bobby Jackson]], [[Donté Greene]], a future first-round draft pick, and cash considerations<ref>{{cite web|last=Stein|first=Marc|title=Rockets agree to send pick, Greene, Jackson to Kings for Artest|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3510261|work=ESPN.com|date=July 31, 2008|access-date=July 31, 2008|archive-date=October 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018233827/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3510261|url-status=live}}</ref> for [[Rashad McCants]] and center [[Calvin Booth]].

[[Reggie Theus]] was fired in the middle of the 2008–09 season, giving way to [[Kenny Natt]] as the interim head coach. The Kings continued to struggle under Natt, ending up with the NBA's worst record for the 2008–09 season at 17–65. On April 23, 2009, Kings' Vice President Geoff Petrie announced the firing of Natt and his four assistants, Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, [[Randy Brown (basketball)|Randy Brown]] and Bubba Burrage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kings fire interim coach Natt, four assistant coaches|url=http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/23/kings.natt.fired.ap/index.html|agency=Associated Press|publisher=National Basketball Association|date=April 23, 2009|access-date=April 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426080203/http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/23/kings.natt.fired.ap/index.html|archive-date=April 26, 2009}}</ref>