…provided that was the same bus filled by Geoff Petrie, Peja Stojakovic and the rest of the Sacramento Kings.

(By the way, if you're looking for analysis of Bibby's 44, Brad Miller's 0-fer or the Kings loss, you obviously don't know me.)

I love the art of observation, of watching people in a certain environment and analyzing how they act, what they say, what their mannerisms are. That's part of the reason I got into journalism – it's the ultimate people-watching occupation. Sure, most of the time I'm watching fairly innocuous people doing fairly innocuous things. But there's still a certain sense of voyeurism in it all – not inserting yourself in the story, just sitting by and watching it unfold, waiting for the hook to fall into place.

It's probably why I was drawn to basketball and the NBA so strongly as a kid. It's a game of players, first and foremost. Sure, the Jordans and Birds and Magics. But also the Bill Laimbeers and the Reggie Millers and the Greg Ostertags. Humans are fascinating, and there are few more vivid observatories of mankind than on the basketball court.

So this whole clusterf*ck of a situation Geoff Petrie has on his hands right now is mindblowing.

You've got a player in Peja Stojakovic – a veritable son to Petrie over the years – absolutely crushed by being all but shipped out at his basketball low point. A guy that by all indications has to suit up tomorrow night.

You've got a team that has to sense some desparation from the front office, and no small amount of uncertainity about individual futures. Who's coming to town tomorrow? How long will Peja be with us? Am I next? Are we playing short-handed tonight?

A coach who can't be comfortable himself, let alone in his players. A set of owners who face a very real backlash from the fanbase no matter what happens next. A general manager that has to temper clearing his name from blame on this with continuing to try to fix this team, along with repair a no-doubt damaged relationship with a longtime friend. A fanbase that just got wrung through the gearworks very quickly and very roughly. A future that hasn't been more bleak in a decade.

The Kings-fan part of me is pissed off at Artest, at Petrie, at the whole damn embarassing situation.

The people-watcher part of me can't wait to watch this all unfold.