Marcus Thornton Kings savior?

Uprooting the franchise and moving it to Anaheim represents the best possible time to make sweeping changes in the front office and on the sideline. But industry sources do not believe Petrie will be shown the door, making this the ultimate test of the Maloofs' loyalty to him. Westphal also has regained support within the organization, and will be helped by the fact that his option already has been picked up for next season. What probably has saved Petrie is the trade that brought Marcus Thornton in from New Orleans. The team has played more cohesively lately, winning three straight on the road last week. Thornton's offense has taken pressure off Tyreke Evans, and psychologically he's become what one source described as the "cartilage" between Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, who have butted heads all season. "That trade may have saved everybody," a source said.