<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Maurice Evans probably hasn't checked, but the two guys the Sacramento Kings decided to replace him with -- Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia -- have combined to produce 20 points and six rebounds through three games. Evans, who signed with the Pistons in August, has 25 points and nine rebounds in three games. Not only will Evans celebrate his return to ARCO Arena tonight, he also will celebrate his 27th birthday. "How about that for scheduling?" he said with a smile. Evans played in 65 games for the Kings last season. "It's going to be a little bit different," he told the Sacramento Bee of his return. "It doesn't seem like it was long ago when I was running out of that tunnel with the Kings." The Pistons are 3-0, but the Kings are 1-2 coming into their home opener. "I watched them play because I have some friends on that team," Evans said. "I saw them struggle, and, from my vantage point, I hope they'll struggle one more game so we can get a win." Evans, who was a restricted free agent in the summer, was disappointed initially that the Kings didn't move to re-sign him. "It's kind of a tricky subject," he said. "Last year, it was my opinion that it would have been a great situation for our team to return somewhat the same -- not only for myself, but for Darius (Songaila) and Cuttino (Mobley). "I thought ... if the Kings had brought us all back, we would have had a really good team with a chance to do some things." But he's not complaining about how things worked out. "This is one of the best organizations in the league," he said of the Pistons. "I couldn't have asked for more. I have an upgraded role, and it's pretty much everything I could have asked for." </div> Source
