Pain and Anguish in Sacramento

The Draft was unkind to the Kings this year: “A text message delivered the unwanted news about the event that concluded while he was in the air: The Kings, who entered Tuesday’s draft lottery in Secaucus, N.J., with the best chance of any team at picking first and nabbing consensus top player Blake Griffin of Oklahoma but would have been pleased with the No. 2 pick that so many pundits saw as Rubio’s slot, would pick in their worst possible position of fourth in the June 25 draft in New York. ‘Whatever level of disappointment there is, even if you were going in with the best chance (at picking first), you’ve got to put that behind you,’ Geoff Petrie said by phone. ‘You continue to build on all of the work you’ve already done in the draft, and continue to prepare.’ After the Kings suffered through a franchise-worst 17-win campaign, such an anticlimactic end was surely harder on the team’s business operation than the basketball portion. With a season-ticket base that has dwindled badly, there was a belief that picking in the top two could spark much-needed excitement and increased fan interest.”