The Kings didn't draft the conventional, creative point guard, the charismatic Spaniard who would have spurred season-ticket sales and whose presence immediately would have addressed the club's most glaring deficiency: someone to pass the ball to everyone else.

So this is a lousy pick, right? Combo guard Tyreke Evans instead of Ricky Rubio? Instead of Jonny Flynn or Stephen Curry? Not if Evans plays to his reviews.

Not if he can make his point.

Not if the Kings win more than once in a while.

This was a classic, definitive Geoff Petrie selection, and as close to a unanimous decision at Arco Arena as the last Urijah Faber-Mike Brown World Extreme Cagefighting match. That 6-foot-5 size. That exceptional length and reach. The abilities in the open court. The physical strength and versatility. The upside that caused Kings officials to scream when Oklahoma City drafted James Harden at No. 3, leaving Evans for them at No. 4.

Whereas I have a particular affinity for players who push and pass the ball – for the pure point guards who amass double-digit assists and involve their teammates – Petrie drafted the guard who dominated the individual workouts, whom many NBA scouts and executives regarded as the most intriguing prospect after Blake Griffin and, more important, who he believes is a clearly superior talent to the higher-profile Rubio.

The Maloofs swallowed hard here. These past few days, they probably even choked up a little. Rubio would have meant fannies in the seats, at least initially. But Petrie, whose draft history is hard to quibble with unless someone wants to mention the occasional Quincy Douby, must know something about sales.

He spoke. The Maloofs listened. They bought in.

"We loved Ricky Rubio," an almost giddy Joe Maloof said midway into Thursday night's festivities, "but Tyreke is the player Geoff thinks is going to help get us back to where we want to be. Geoff, coach (Paul) Westphal, all the scouts, everybody felt this was the right guy. It's about winning. Winning sells tickets. Believe me, the room erupted when David Stern announced that Oklahoma City took … Harden."

Asked whether Rubio's complicated and unresolved buyout issue was a factor in the decision to pass on the DKV Joventut star, Maloof shook his head. "Everyone just thought Tyreke was the best player."

If not a completely safe pick. There were matters besides his playmaking skills to investigate. In November 2007, Evans was driving a car from which his cousin, Jamar Evans, shot and killed 19-year-old Marcus Reason in Chester, Pa. Tyreke Evans was neither arrested nor charged, and according to Petrie, any concerns about maturity were allayed after conducting an intensive background check and interviewing the Memphis star during the predraft game in Chicago.

Petrie and Westphal were no less forceful when discussing Evans' prospects as a starting point guard. With only fleeting mention of incumbent Beno Udrih's return, they spoke of Evans' ability to attack the basket, to post up and draw double-teams, a willingness to find open teammates and defend aggressively. They repeated the words "tough" and "physical." And they deviated from the NBA habit of squeezing players into specific roles.

"He's a basketball player," Westphal said, with a slight smile. "You can just … feel it. He has that something about him."

There is no doubt. They have no doubts about this selection. They wanted Evans.

Evans wanted the Kings. He thinks of himself as an NBA point guard. They think he'll get there, too. And if the youngster develops as expected alongside a nucleus that includes Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and Francisco García, they'll be right. Thursday will be recalled as a fine, perhaps fateful day for the Kings.

Call The Bee's Ailene Voisin, (916) 321-1208.