1988 – the year Jessica Rabbit made us feel really weird about ourselves. Steph Curry was born, and the Kings immediately passed on him due to ankle concerns. Dorthea Puente brought serial killing to Sacramento. And Jerry Reynolds was T’d up for passing out.
Let’s Kings basketball!
The 1988 offseason was a rather busy and extended one. The Kings traded face of the franchise Reggie Theus to Atlanta for the draft pick that would become Ricky Berry. The Kings also selected Vinny Del Negro in the second round. The Kings had managed to reshape their entire backcourt. Out were Theus, as well as (per prior deals) Mike Woodson and Larry Drew. The future was Kenny Smith, Berry, Del Negro, and what was left of Derek Smith’s knees.
Less than a month before the season was to begin, the Kings dealt their best player (Otis Thorpe) to Houston for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen. I think that this deal may have been due to the Kings not wanting to pay Thorpe his next contract. It was somewhat known at the time that the Gregg Lukenbill had all but exhausted his coffers bringing the team to Sacramento, retrofitting ARCO I and building ARCO II. Many of our younger generation of Kings fans may be unaware that ARCO II came complete with a pad for a baseball diamond (you can still see it on Google Maps today, immediately North of where the arena once stood (type in RP Sports Complex). Not that McCray and Petersen weren’t NBA-level players. They just weren’t Otis Thorpe.
The Kings were 12-32 after their loss on Feb. 5, 1989. Within the next two weeks, they would waive Derek Smith and trade LaSalle Thompson, Randy Wittman, Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney. The return on these two trades was Wayman Tisdale, Danny Ainge, and Brad Lohaus. The team went 12-17 once all of the new players arrived, and if you ever wondered how a town could get excited about a team playing at a .414 clip, well the answer is at least they were no longer playing at a .273 clip. And a hat tip to head coach Jerry Reynolds, who had to re-invent the team’s approach less than a month before the season and again during the season.
Jerry’s Scare
About that night: On December 27, 1988, the Kings battling it out at ARCO with the Portland Trailblazers. The Kings had lost four straight and dropped to 6-18. Incensed over a call made against the Kings by referee Blaine Reichelt, Reynolds screamed and leapt in the air from his seated position, then fell unconscious to the floor. Reichelt, thinking that Reynolds was putting on a show, promptly t’d him up. Reynold regained consciousness about 30 seconds later, though he remained on the floor with Kings medical staff for about 10 minutes before being taken to the hospital. Thankfully, Reynolds did not suffer any chest pain and his blood pressure was relatively normal, and he was ultimately given a clean bill of health. Oh yeah – Reichelt rescinded the technical foul, and the Kings went on to win 112-111, led by Kenny Smith’s 25 points and 12 assists, and a big 15-point, 16-rebound performance by the one and only Joe Kleine.
This is not one of Jerry’s favorite stories – even now, he is a “rub some dirt on it” kind of guy that refuses to be outworked. I think that it still pisses him off that he couldn’t travel to Utah and had to miss the next game.
Another Infamous Incident
A little more than two months later, on March 31, 1989, the Kings were leading the Philadelphia 76ers 94-91 when the roof of ARCO Arena sprung a leak. Led by owner Gregg Lukenbill, a gaggle of ARCO employees took to the catwalk high above the floor, spreading a “Sacramento Sports Association” banner below the leak, all while more than a few smart alecks chanted “Jump! Jump! Jump!” The Kings went on to lose 114-111. This is what we call “foreshadowing” as it pertained to how the rest of 1989 was going to play out.
Reynolds’ Wrap
“This season was the “ best of times and the worst of times.” The loss of Thorpe was a 10-year mistake but the young trio of Kenny Smith, Ricky Berry, and Vinny DelNegro provided hope. Developed a good relationship with now GM Bill Russell but Bill, RIP, had little scouting help which made a tough job tougher. In the middle of all this had my collapse on court which brought a lot of unwanted attention both locally and nationally. Of course, had a nice closing stretch to the season and got the number 1 pick in the draft. As I mentioned earlier, ‘the best of times the worst of times.’ Just couldn’t know the how bad the times would become!” – Jerry Reynolds
***
The Kings had gone from 37 to 29 to 24 to 27 wins in their first four seasons, but the team finished on a bit of an (expectations adjusted) uptick. The roster had a gamer in Danny Ainge, a legit PG in Kenny Smith, a fulcrum in Rodney McCray, and a star in the making in Ricky Berry. And OMG, the Kings landed the 1st pick in the NBA draft. The 1st pick! Olajuwon in ’84. Ewing in ’85. David Robinson in ’87. What stud were we going to be blessed with (yep, feel free to scratch another record here, and make it a long one)? The collective fan base was brimming with anticipation, and we could hardly Wait ‘til Next Year.
Thanks for these articles, Rob. I’ve been forwarding each article to my Dad to read and it’s bringing back a lot of memories for him. He always gives me his commentary on each year when I email him the articles.
Definitely helping get through the doldrums of a Kings offseason.
Great stuff again, Rob. Looking forward to reading the next one!
The next one is going to be brutal. Reynolds gone, Ellison, and of course Berry.
These episodes are great- a delicious slice of time to savor this Summer.
I can imagine the furrowed brow of The Great Jerry Reynolds when I say this –
but was it ever considered a strategy to “fake faint” (feint faint?) a couple of more times, as they did get the win? It was also the era of Al Davis and The Just Win, Baby Raiders, so maybe it was considered (and rejected).
Kidding aside, It was a scary event. A universal sigh of relief was felt when he was cleared to return to the bench.
This was also the year of the Loma Prieta earthquake (October, so next season) and Tiananmen Square (June, so during the Kings championship playoff run…)
Y’know – despite the carousel of players, and the losing, it has always been great having an NBA team, even this excuse for an NBA team, here in our Sacramento. ARCO I was it’s own experience. 1989 brought in ARCO II which was a fun spot to watch the stars of basketball shine.
Thanks again Rob and TGJR for an early Dad’s Day Delight!
OT: Rockets ink Adams to a 3 year extension at around $13M per year. The Kings have JV for two more at around $10M per year (with 2nd year fully unguaranteed). that JV deal is looking very good.
Thanks.
These memories are one of the reason why all these No Kings marches are a bridge too far!!!
Just get rid off the dismissive little chap.
it’s probably been noticed before—
But when it comes to the dismissive little chap- the Vivek Kings- it is alphabetically intact that
there was a DLC before there was a DMC.
This may just be my OCD kicking in (shouldn’t it be CDO?)
Since you are in RikSmits country:
&ct=g
Happy Faja’s Day (Goldmember style)
OT: Wow, Orlando and Memphis pull off a big trade.
https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3lrnque52kh24
Wow! 4 unprotected picks! That makes the Fox trade feel like a swift kick to the balls.
An aside, I bet Cole Anthony is available. Monk to Memphis for Anthony and one of those picks?
How come trades involving other teams, even done 4 months later still has Sacramento looking like a dog poop organization?
I am not saying that the Fox trade was anything other than a disaster, but who is the better player?
I at least think Bane is much easier to incorporate into the system of many teams than Fox and provides significantly better outside shooting and TS%.
And I think it is an overpay, but at least the Magic are going all in and aiming high.
We are trying to manouver for another playin spot…
True. Bane is basically a 50, 40, 90 shooter who averages 20, 5 and 5 and plays both ways. That’s elite production. He’s also just 26 and locked up for a looooong time and he is just what Orlando needed. The Magic are going all in and are going to be very good for years to come.
https://bsky.app/profile/mikevorkunov.bsky.social/post/3lrntd36uns2v
He addresses their biggest weakness (3p shooting) and he fits their defensive mentality as he’s strong, physical and aggressive.
Suggs and Bane make for a daunting backcourt.
Is Memphis going for a tear down and rebuild? Or are those picks going to be used for a bigger named guy? Is Ja next?
Orlando is going to be super expensive soon. Franz and Suggs in rookie scale max, Paolo’s kicks in after next season, and Bane is in a huge deal until 2029.
Maybe Suggs is available now?
I think they are all in on Suggs, Bane, Franz, and Paolo. That’s a good young core. Black, Howard and Goga are the prospects they won’t be able to afford to extend next summer. You know I like Black.
Adding…looking at their cap sheet, Orlando is going to be an 2nd apron team next season! They are totally capped out with their star extensions kicking in. They are going to have to dump salary and declining the team options of Mortiz and Gary Harris won’t cut it.
I’d offer Monk and draft capital if needed for Black and Isaac and see if gets traction. That’s saves the Magic over $4M and gives them a scorer and facilitator behind Suggs and Bane, but the trade would have to happen before the end of the NBA calendar year as they won’t be able aggregate players beginning in July.
WHOA!
BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap, sources tell ESPN.
Crandell’d.
Badge Legend