Carbon Monoxide Never Smelled So Sweet

Yesterday was filled with hubris and agitation, more than it should have been. Can you blame us? Since December, we've looked forward to this draft. When Mike Bibby was clanging jumpers and Ron Artest was getting arrested and Eric Musselman was screaming to no one in particular, we were calmly yet excitedly awaiting the lottery and the draft. By February, we were actually attempting to decipher our likely draft range. By March, we were calculating our draft odds. The season was lost, but our hope was not. But our hope didn't depend on April's results -- it depended on May and June.

That's why we're so frustrated. If nothing else -- damn near 50 losses and only a pittance of in-game smiles -- we were going to make some noise in the draft. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were always pipe dreams, but Al Horford wasn't. Brandan Wright wasn't. Joakim Noah certainly wasn't. Yi Jianlian wasn't. Those guys excited us, thrilled us, made us ache for November 1 and a new start. Spencer Hawes? Maybe it's superficial and we're all reverse racists, self-loathers. But still, there's no quicker way to suck the wind out of someone's sails than to drop what some have called 'the next Todd Fuller' on their deck.

Nonetheless, I'll never stop being a fan of this team. Sadly, even if they hit the road and relocate to Nunavut, I'll still follow them. I've pounded on the 'In Petrie We Trust' drum too long to cut the cord on Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia... and yes, Spencer Hawes. I think it's a questionable move, I think it's absurd Petrie couldn't get another pick anywhere, I weep when I see what Chris Mullin was able to do... and I would love to be proved wrong. There's no way in hell I'm booing Hawes, not on Day 1, not on Day 1,000. It's not his fault -- we should want him to succeed and thrive and be happy. I do.

Julian Wright will look sharp in New Orleans, and Brandan's going to be a beast in Oaktown. Joakim Noah is every bit the question mark Spencer encompasses, so we'll see how he fits in with Ben Wallace and crew. Al Thornton will likely drop 30 on us in December, and Yi Jianlian... well, has Yi returned to China yet? Forget all that. Spencer Hawes is a King, and we're going to cheer him on for the next 10 years... or until his knees give out. Whichever comes first.

Welcome to Sacramento, Spencer.

(Oh, and hi Whitey. Thanks for the plug this morning. For the record: I have absolutely no problem with you... it's your co-host whose brain/mouth perplexes me. And he's fricking Stephen Hawking compared to the afternoon guys.)