Well lack of effort certainly is not entertaining, nor is poor coaching or poor results. But I hope you agree on youth development and maybe perhaps getting decent looks at people who may potentially be on the trading block come off season is useful at least.
I agree with developing our young players if they play with heart and effort. Again, my main priority at the end of the day is watching something that gives me enjoyment. I personally am not that invested in "getting decent looks at people who may potentially be on the trading block" when I tune in to watch the KINGS.
I like to view what we have honestly, go over contract options, attempt to see maneuvers for progress.
So I still enjoy observing regardless of team status in the standings, but without any pressure of let down really once its pretty obvious we are out of it. In the 90's I was more like you were because the crowd was still hopping, we had Mitch and the team played hard. After the first taste of the playoffs I wanted much more than that. I'll take years of misery with hope it is directed to the bigger championship realms.
I have watched the NBA since 1963, as I've said before. I want to see heart, hustle, energy and effort. A championship would be incredible, but it's not why I watch the games. If it were, I would have given up on the Kings a very long time ago.
You know what frustrates me? Not having any hope for progress, seeing bad money on the floor that we can't move, being stuck. The worst place you can be if you ask me is on the treadmill, or close to making the playoffs but not bad enough to build through the draft. You can always move the pick, you can always nail a draft choice, something new is coming. Seeing a bunch of underachievers or poor coaching pull of a couple of meaningless wins doesn't really do it for me.
Again for me, it's not about draft picks. It's about the now, not the future, at least when I attend or watch the game. The philosophical discussions are for other times, not when the team is on the court. I am invested in this team in years, in tears and (at least until recently) in the fear that they would soon be gone. I want to see these young men perform well and enjoy what they're doing as much as I enjoy watching.
Our basic foundation needs work, and its not going to change with a couple of more wins. It may change with a few ping pong balls.
And that's where I differ from a lot of other fans. I honestly do not give a crap about the ping pong balls or the draft picks. With our luck, we'd probably end up with Greg Oden anyway. I know my view isn't the prevalent one and that's okay. I'm content to watch the games and root for the now. It's when I see horrific coaching and a lack of heart on the part of the players (who probably are feeling as bad if not worse than we do) that I get upset.
I want to just be a fan again, not an amateur arm-chair psychiatrist who is trying to figure out why everything has gone so blasted wrong.
Give me back my KINGS! Those of you who want to look to the future are probably the majority and you're certainly free to hold those beliefs, but it shouldn't have to come at the expense of all who pay for tickets to be entertained now. There should be a way for all of us Kings fans to be happy.
::VF21 gets off soapbox and slowly walks off the stage::
