Try to Understand: When Donte Greene Can, He Will

by Tom Ziller on Oct 29, 2008 11:28 AM PDT

Donté Green cannot do a damn thing wrong this year. We, here and elsewhere, typically expect a lot from our rookies, no matter the age. Kevin Durant went from potential G.O.A.T. to Rashard Lewis based on 82 games at age 19. WHAT? Guilty as charged, we have turned our backs on Spencer Hawes a dozen times by now. This league swallows teenagers whole, and fans have as much blood on their hands as GMs and coaches and analysts do.

Jason Thompson won't get a free pass, just as Hawes did not. Bobby Brown, safe as he wants to be, has to do something to make it to next season. But Donté Greene ... he could harvest lint all year long and I'm not going to worry a wink about him. Greene could have an impact immediately, or he might not. He could drop 20 in 10 minutes of garbage time, or he might miss six three-pointers. I don't care. I'm not worried.

The Donté Greene who shows up this season isn't the Donté Greene Geoff Petrie traded for, or Daryl Morey picked (by trade), or Jim Boeheim recruited, or Reggie Theus dreams about. And anyone who says DONTE GREENE will show up in Year Two or Year Three or on January 17, 2011 ... that's all bone-throwing. They don't know. I don't know. You don't know.

Donté Greene doesn't know.

Every single one of us -- D.G., G.P., R.T., T.Z., S.t.R., Y.M., K.M. -- we will all find out at the same moment. Donté Greene will return to this Earth and he will take our breaths away. This is not a specimen to ease into excellence or "develop." This is a full-grown genius who shows up on your doorstep on a normal, unassuming day. He wears a three-piece suit and has a 17-inch fro-hawk. He smiles like a rainbow trout and exchanges foreign currency out of pocket. Euros, yen, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars. He's got that. He's got ev-e-ry-thing.

Consider patience preached ev'ry Sunday til that Day of Revolution comes.

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Comments

You're right (and funny)

He’ll get a pass (I hope)

and maybe some quality time in Reno if the organization is smart.

When he returns he could be everything we want – and need (or not).

I do love the attitude that he and JT both seem to have: that its just a matter of time, just WAIT ‘till I adjust, I’m coming!

But they both have to do the Work, I’ve seen it in JT, seen the work churning – trying to bloom into performance.

Donte’ still seems to be a bit bemused at ‘being there’, lost in that haze, yet still supremely confidant that the fog will clear and he will emerge. He seems like a great kid.

Lets hope that he does get that time before his lack of readiness gets into his head. He needs to spend time, be Allowed some time, working on some real fundimentals to go with that talent and attitude.

Cisco? Cisco? CISCO!!!! #*$!%! !

by lietothegirls on Oct 29, 2008 12:04 PM PDT reply actions

I really hope they don't send Donte' to Reno

even if it’s beneficial to his game. He seems like a nice guy, and for one thing it’d be kind of mean to ship him to the “biggest little city”. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Reno, but I’m kind of a masochist that way. I think that Donte’ would be more disappointed then excited for the opportunity if he were assigned there, but if he didn’t seem like such a good kid I wouldn’t give a crap how he felt about it.

Also though, I think he genuinely adds much to the camaraderie of this team, which is something not to be underestimated (lest we forget how the teams of the glory years seemed to have so much fun, and how much that seemed to impact their play).

by AnotherStupidSN on Oct 29, 2008 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions

But he'd be so ready to LEAVE there.

I said it somewhere else but from his pre-season play he looks like he needs some real minutes against almost NBA ready players.

Cisco? Cisco? CISCO!!!! #*$!%! !

by lietothegirls on Oct 29, 2008 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Even though

you’ve mentioned Reno is pretty much every thread on the board, I’ll only respond to it here. It ain’t gonna happen.

I think being around the players that have a proven record of doing the work necessary to develop and thrive in this league(see Martin, Moore, Miller), getting used to the travel and the grind that is the NBA, practicing with and fighting for minutes with real NBA players, will do Donté more good than PT in Reno.

Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott

by Kfan in Korea on Oct 29, 2008 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

There are negatives as well

I don’t deny.
but when the schedule gets crowded a little later they don’t even practice very much.
Just my opinion, but I think he has some basic fundamentals to work on – I think he’s got the fight part in him already (unlike SW?). If I thought he’d get (or has earned) any minutes at all . . .

But I hear you.

Cisco? Cisco? CISCO!!!! #*$!%! !

by lietothegirls on Oct 29, 2008 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Y.M. = Yao Ming? If so then: Why?

Anyway, about Donté, I know he’s young and I know he’s the most projecty player on this current roster, but watching him in preseason was pretty bloody painful. I mean yes, he did show some good stuff with that passing of his, the shot and the drive ~~each time he did not catch the ball out of bounds or commited a travelling violation on his initial dribble, which was a lot more often than my fragile nerves could sustain~~ and his on the ball defense wasn’t half as bad as I had imagined. But the rest…Christ! I will be very glad when he learns some more on-court awareness, to put it mildly.

Fight indifference! Or don't.

by jalfa on Oct 29, 2008 12:13 PM PDT reply actions

Y.M.

Oh, Y.M. stands for [REDACTED].

by Tom Ziller on Oct 29, 2008 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Yo Mama?

by hozr on Oct 29, 2008 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Wow

I didn’t expect someone to actually try to figure it out. Well done.

by Tom Ziller on Oct 29, 2008 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions

right

Cisco? Cisco? CISCO!!!! #*$!%! !

by lietothegirls on Oct 29, 2008 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Brilliant piece, TZ

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Oct 29, 2008 12:52 PM PDT reply actions

I 2nd this motion

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Oct 29, 2008 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Thanks, friends

by Tom Ziller on Oct 29, 2008 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions

much obliged

Fight indifference! Or don't.

by jalfa on Oct 29, 2008 2:58 PM PDT reply actions

Love the pic

Extra E can sky! My wish for Donté is practice hard play smart when you get minutes, get used to the NBA, and earn some consistent minutes after the all star break. Have fun.

Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott

by Kfan in Korea on Oct 29, 2008 3:02 PM PDT reply actions

Donte for nothing

Its hard not to be excited about Donte, he is a load of talent which pretty much fell in our lap. If Ron had opted out there would be nothing but instead we ended up with someone that could be a part of a bright Kings future. I can wait a few seasons for that

by Hilton on Oct 29, 2008 8:09 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

It's not just Donte though too HIlton

It’s also the (probably) late 1st round pick the Rockets gave up next year too.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Oct 30, 2008 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions

PLAY DONTE PLAY DONTE PLAY DONTE

I would like to believe that someone in the Kings organization will get the picture as did the Sonics last year and play all of the rookies the more experience in playing the sooner we will be ready for the playoffs. We won’t get close this year but should have a good first round pick next year with Rubio, Mullens, Griffin, Thabeet or Harden available that could help this team . I don’t think anyone really believes that we will make the playoffs this year and playing for a first round draft pick is better than winning one too many games to be above the last place team. Miami should have shown us that much last year !!!!!!

by TOCAN on Nov 3, 2008 11:12 PM PST reply actions