The Brightest Spot

My former radio partner and friend Damien Barling once said, “man you live under the happy tree.”

I love that statement, I take it as a compliment, and honestly try to look at life that way.

I am well aware that everything doesn’t always fall into that positive column. Let’s take the Sacramento Kings for example.

This offseason they lost Bogdan Bogdanovic, Harry Giles, Alex Len, and Kent Bazemore. They replaced them with unknown quantities in draft picks that the new front office believes will be key contributors to future success. With that framework as a baseline it looks like a setup for failure for the upcoming season.

That is certainly up for debate and may ultimately be true, but I am here to argue that the Kings did achieve their most important piece of their offseason. They have secured the future of their best player De’Aaron Fox. De’Aaron is turning 23 right before this season begins and will be under team control for the next 5 years.

Here is what Kings General Manager Monte McNair had to say about the move, “De’Aaron is amongst the elite young guards in the league and I can’t say enough about how excited we are to have his talent, leadership and potential remain in Sacramento for years to come,” said McNair. “His speed and dynamic playmaking ability along with his aggressive defensive mindset are core to our team’s identity. Not only is De’Aaron a fierce competitor who is committed to winning here, his charisma and integrity are characteristics we value greatly. I anticipate a bright future ahead for him and the organization.”

So, what is next for De’Aaron? What kind of jump can he make?

Recently Bam Adebayo and Brandon Ingram also just signed huge contracts with their teams. A year ago, at this time I thought both players were good up and coming talents. I did not think they would be All-Stars last season, but they were. They made a jump. De’Aaron is more than capable of that. Last year he posted his best season yet and he can do more. His 21.1 ppg, 6.8 apg in the season were topped when he was in the bubble and averaged 26.1ppg with 7.5 apg, and in many games looked like the best player on the floor. That is a good thing, that is encouraging and if he chases greatness he can get there.

“I would like to thank Vivek and Monte for this opportunity to continue my career with the Kings,” said Fox. “It has been an honor to play in front of the best fans in all of sports and begin my career here in Sacramento. I look forward to getting back on the court with my teammates, competing hard every night and leading this team to the next level.”

This offseason has been frustrating to many Kings fans for what they lost in players on the roster or for what they didn’t add to the team, but I look at what the kept in De’Aaron. He is critical to what this team will be going forward. The Kings bet on him; I would do the same thing. He is here and I will enjoy every minute of it watching from my comfy spot under that happy tree.

Go get it De’Aaron, you deserve all the accolades that are coming your way.

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