Becoming A Hyperbolic Prisoner of the Moment
Thursday night there was a roller coaster of roster movement for the Sacramento Kings, which was mirrored by a similar ebb and flow of emotions of many Kings fans, including me. Far too often fans and pundits alike become prisoners of the moment, unable to take a step back and either let things develop or get a perspective of the big picture. In the process they make vast generalizations and statements of hyperbole (i.e. ‘Player X is the greatest of all-time!’ or ‘We’re doomed!’). On draft night, I too found myself failing to gain perspective and making grandiose, reactionary proclamations.
Merely an hour before the draft, the Kings pulled the trigger on a trade that would send Beno Udrih and their seventh pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for former-King, John Salmons and the Bucks’ 10th pick. The move was perplexing to say the least and left me confused to why the trade was done. Salmons, who is guaranteed $25 million over the next three years, has a worse contract than Udrih who is owed $15 over the next two years (assuming he accepts his player option in 2012). Furthermore, Salmons is widely considered a black hole or a ball stopper on offense, while Udrih had a good veteran presence on the young Kings team as well as arguably one of the best mid-range jumpers in the NBA.
These thoughts and more were running through my head for the hour leading up to the draft, and had me worried as a Kings fan. Things only got worse once the Utah Jazz unexpectedly (for me at least {link to mock draft}) passed on Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight, who I thought was perfect but unattainable for the Kings before the draft, in favor of Turkish big man, Enes Kanter. When the Toronto Raptors, who were expected by many to take a point guard, also passed on Knight, I realized the perfect fit for the Kings would fall past the Washington Wizards (who already have John Wall) to the seventh pick, which the Kings had traded about an hour and a half earlier.
My team had traded for a worse pick and what I believed to be a worse player/contract, a trade that cost them the opportunity to grab their ideal player, or at least who I believed to be their ideal player. I was in full-blown the-sky-is-falling-mode, even calling for Geoff Petrie’s firing on Facebook. I had become an overreacting prisoner of the moment.
I watched the Kings’ selection of Jimmer Fredette, BYU sensation, and then turned off the draft dejected and apathetic. Later, while I was sulking, I was informed that the Kings had selected Tyler Honeycutt, which greatly raised my spirits (as a life-long UCLA fan and soon-to-be Bruin, I am a big fan of Honeycutt). Sacramento also went on to select Washington’s Isiah Thomas, another player I liked for the Kings coming into the draft. I was definitely riding the roller coaster of emotion that comes along with being a passionate fan. This upswing in the night allowed me to take a step back and look at the Kings’ draft night with more perspective and optimism. I still didn’t completely understand the trade (I know they moved Udrih to make room for Fredette, but I think they could’ve done better than Salmons), but when I took a look at the Kings’ draft, I was pretty happy.
Knight could’ve been at seven, but I would’ve been happy with the Kings selecting Fredette if Knight had gone to Utah. Sacramento was 26th in the NBA in 3P% (shooting 33.5%), which Fredette will look to change with his great jumper and career 39.4 3P%. Honeycutt is a player that has a lot of potential and does everything well, especially playing defense. Thomas is a solid player who will challenge Pooh Jeter for playing time and a roster spot. He could bring scoring, distributing (averaged 16.8 ppg and 6.1 apg last season) and a lot of speed off of the bench.
As a sports fan, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of putting too much stock into the present, but as a sports writer one must take a step back and get a wider perspective on things. On draft night I fell into the trap as a Kings fan, but learned a valuable lesson as an aspiring journalist. Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back I can see that the Kings had a great draft (considering it was a down year), so look out Mavs and Heat, here come the Kings!
guest author: Steve Covella, as seen in Layup Line
