The NBA Draft.
Have you ever had high hopes for something in your life, something that you felt entitled to, had been without for a while, but obtained it back again?
Maybe you make the best cake out of anyone you know, or you can get somewhere faster than anyone else that you know.
Now imagine that for 9 or 10 years, someone else has been doing those things better than you and been more impressive and was just more consistent than you at that thing.
That's how it's been for me and my favorite NBA team, the Chicago Bulls since Michael Jordan's famous jumper-steal-jumper sequence finished the 1998 NBA Finals with the Bulls winning their 6th title in 8 years.
Lost in the mix in that fantastic 8 year run were the two years that Michael left to play double-a baseball.
Could it have actually been 8 straight titles? Would the Bulls be the modern-day Celtics? Would Jordan be even more revered than he is now?
In all honesty and homerism aside, I don't know that the Bulls could have won both of those years, maybe once. But in those two years, the Houston Rockets and their hall-of-fame center, Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back championships.
Even more important is the fact that Hakeem played center, which was always the weakest part of the Bulls' championship teams, as they employed such anti-greats like Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Scott Williams, Luc Longley and Bill Wennington.
Would that rag-tag crew be able to hold down Hakeem at the absolute apex of his powers? One of the greatest six centers of all-time against an over-the-hill Bill Cartwright? Does that sound like a fun time?
In my opinion, if Jordan never retired, the Bulls would have won the title for the 1993-1994 season, winning their fourth straight championship, but the Rockets would come back motivated the next year, benefit from Hakeem likely averaging a triple-double and win the '95 title.
So I'm sure you're wondering why I'm writing about this. You're probably saying "Charlie, those finals were years ago, Michael is an executive now, Hakeem is a hall-of-famer now,why is this relevant?"
It's relevant because that's the most fun I've had talking about the Bulls since the 1998 Finals.
The team of the '90's in the NBA, which doubled as the most competitive decade in NBA history, with the greatest player in basketball history and one of the six best swingmen and second bananas of all-time dominated the league and carried the city of Chicago through one of the saddest times in it's sports history.
Flash forward to the 2007 playoffs: The Bulls sweep the defending World Champion Miami Heat in four straight games, looked primed to make a deep playoff run, maybe even go to the finals. They probably wouldn't have won, they were still a young team after all, but it would be valuable experience.
The Pistons got up 3-0 in the series, but the Bulls showed some heart in winning two and going to six games.
Everything was in place for the Bulls to break through and go back to the Finals in 2008, and, depending on the match-up, maybe win a championship.
Basketball was my first love and the Bulls and Razorback basketball teams I remember as fondly as anyone in my own family.
So imagine my terror and surprise when the Bulls became the most disappointing team in my basketball life.
The Bulls were awful, much worse than their 33-49 record would indicate, and all seemed lost. Noone wanted these players that originally had such high hopes for, but had seen regress in a big way in 2007-2008.
The other teams have scouts, and they knew what they would be getting. You go from Luol Deng being the center piece of a trade for Kevin Garnett before the 2006 trade to him having to be offered along with another player just to get to the table with the Memphis Grizzlies.
It was a worst-case scenario for a team that was on the short-list of title contenders before the year, there were no injuries, just chemistry problems, an unhappy team that was playing basketball like a job and not because they loved it.
So imagine my surprise when the Bulls overcame overwhelming odds to win the NBA's annual draft lottery, going from the team with 1.7 odds to draw the pick to the team with it's pick of whoever they like.
So what if the Bulls get a franchise player in Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley? What if they take the Bulls on a similar run to the six titles in eight years, and it was all possible due to the Bulls having an awful season this past year?
Was it worth it? Was the high hopes that were quickly vanished be forgotten with a sexy rookie that is an integral part of a championship team? It just depends on who you are, and besides the odds were not good that they would get the pick.
What if they had gotten stuck at 9? What then? Brooke Lopez or Eric Gordon? Do we blow it up and start over?
I can't even pretend to know what John Paxson may do on draft night, after all, he's perplexed enough in the past three years to last a lifetime. (Don't even get me started on the Tyrus Thomas for Lamarcus Aldridge deal in 2006).
More importantly, do you feel remotely safe about Paxson pulling the trigger on what is probably the second most important draft pick in the franchise's history?
I don't, but as the Bulls and their fans learned over the past 13 months, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and in the Bulls' case this year was an all-time great example.
Now it's up to the front office to create their own luck now. If they build another championship team, then maybe it's better to be lucky than good. At this point, I'll take either of the two.
Maybe you make the best cake out of anyone you know, or you can get somewhere faster than anyone else that you know.
Now imagine that for 9 or 10 years, someone else has been doing those things better than you and been more impressive and was just more consistent than you at that thing.
That's how it's been for me and my favorite NBA team, the Chicago Bulls since Michael Jordan's famous jumper-steal-jumper sequence finished the 1998 NBA Finals with the Bulls winning their 6th title in 8 years.
Lost in the mix in that fantastic 8 year run were the two years that Michael left to play double-a baseball.
Could it have actually been 8 straight titles? Would the Bulls be the modern-day Celtics? Would Jordan be even more revered than he is now?
In all honesty and homerism aside, I don't know that the Bulls could have won both of those years, maybe once. But in those two years, the Houston Rockets and their hall-of-fame center, Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back championships.
Even more important is the fact that Hakeem played center, which was always the weakest part of the Bulls' championship teams, as they employed such anti-greats like Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Scott Williams, Luc Longley and Bill Wennington.
Would that rag-tag crew be able to hold down Hakeem at the absolute apex of his powers? One of the greatest six centers of all-time against an over-the-hill Bill Cartwright? Does that sound like a fun time?
In my opinion, if Jordan never retired, the Bulls would have won the title for the 1993-1994 season, winning their fourth straight championship, but the Rockets would come back motivated the next year, benefit from Hakeem likely averaging a triple-double and win the '95 title.
So I'm sure you're wondering why I'm writing about this. You're probably saying "Charlie, those finals were years ago, Michael is an executive now, Hakeem is a hall-of-famer now,why is this relevant?"
It's relevant because that's the most fun I've had talking about the Bulls since the 1998 Finals.
The team of the '90's in the NBA, which doubled as the most competitive decade in NBA history, with the greatest player in basketball history and one of the six best swingmen and second bananas of all-time dominated the league and carried the city of Chicago through one of the saddest times in it's sports history.
Flash forward to the 2007 playoffs: The Bulls sweep the defending World Champion Miami Heat in four straight games, looked primed to make a deep playoff run, maybe even go to the finals. They probably wouldn't have won, they were still a young team after all, but it would be valuable experience.
The Pistons got up 3-0 in the series, but the Bulls showed some heart in winning two and going to six games.
Everything was in place for the Bulls to break through and go back to the Finals in 2008, and, depending on the match-up, maybe win a championship.
Basketball was my first love and the Bulls and Razorback basketball teams I remember as fondly as anyone in my own family.
So imagine my terror and surprise when the Bulls became the most disappointing team in my basketball life.
The Bulls were awful, much worse than their 33-49 record would indicate, and all seemed lost. Noone wanted these players that originally had such high hopes for, but had seen regress in a big way in 2007-2008.
The other teams have scouts, and they knew what they would be getting. You go from Luol Deng being the center piece of a trade for Kevin Garnett before the 2006 trade to him having to be offered along with another player just to get to the table with the Memphis Grizzlies.
It was a worst-case scenario for a team that was on the short-list of title contenders before the year, there were no injuries, just chemistry problems, an unhappy team that was playing basketball like a job and not because they loved it.
So imagine my surprise when the Bulls overcame overwhelming odds to win the NBA's annual draft lottery, going from the team with 1.7 odds to draw the pick to the team with it's pick of whoever they like.
So what if the Bulls get a franchise player in Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley? What if they take the Bulls on a similar run to the six titles in eight years, and it was all possible due to the Bulls having an awful season this past year?
Was it worth it? Was the high hopes that were quickly vanished be forgotten with a sexy rookie that is an integral part of a championship team? It just depends on who you are, and besides the odds were not good that they would get the pick.
What if they had gotten stuck at 9? What then? Brooke Lopez or Eric Gordon? Do we blow it up and start over?
I can't even pretend to know what John Paxson may do on draft night, after all, he's perplexed enough in the past three years to last a lifetime. (Don't even get me started on the Tyrus Thomas for Lamarcus Aldridge deal in 2006).
More importantly, do you feel remotely safe about Paxson pulling the trigger on what is probably the second most important draft pick in the franchise's history?
I don't, but as the Bulls and their fans learned over the past 13 months, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and in the Bulls' case this year was an all-time great example.
Now it's up to the front office to create their own luck now. If they build another championship team, then maybe it's better to be lucky than good. At this point, I'll take either of the two.