Just Wait ’til Next Year: 1990 – New Blood, Jim Les Mania, and ARCO Magic

(Welcome back to our off-season series, “Just Wait ‘til Next Year!” in which special guest Jerry Reynolds and I bring you our 147 combined years to bring you our recollections of past Kings years.)

For every bit that the 1989 season was one prolonged nut punch, the 1990 season was filled with excitement, newness, and a couple of unbeknownst (at the time) Easter Eggs. This season and the 1991 season was ahead of its time – these were years that cried for an internet and The Kings Herald. Take a stroll with me down memory lane, and imagine yourself (after an extended wait while your AOL dial-up connected) reading about and commenting on the following chain of events.

On June 25-26, the Kings traded Pervis Ellison and Rodney McCray in separate deals. Ellison netted journeymen Bobby Hansen and Eric Leckner, as well as the 23rd pick in the upcoming draft. Basically, it had taken one season for Ellison’s value to sink from #1 to #23 pick. The Kings did better with McCray, as they received the 14th and 18th pick in the upcoming draft, as well as Bill Wennington. One day later, the Kings drafted four players in the first round: Lionel Simmons (7), Travis Mays (14), Duane Causwell (18), and Anthony Bonner (23). The Kings also drafted Bimbo Coles at 40, trading him for Rory Sparrow.

I remember one thing that really excited me about Sparrow is that he was one of eight “Athletes Who Care” that was honored by Sports Illustrated as the Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the Year in 1987 (the others were Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves, Reggie Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals, LPGA’s Patty Sheehan, Bob Bourne of Los Angeles Kings, Olympic hurdler Judi Brown Clarke, Wake Forest running back Chip Rives, and Men’s Olympic distance runner Kip Keino. For the still small town of Sacramento, this was as close as we got to national recognition, Dorthea Puente notwithstanding.

Later that summer, the Kings paroled Danny Ainge to the Portland Trailblazers for Byron Irvin (who was later traded for Steve Colter) and a 1991 first round draft pick.

In the course of a week, the Kings had jettisoned most of the prior year’s core rotation. In addition to McCray, Ainge and Ellison, Vinny Del Negro was not re-signed, Harold Pressley had played his last game in the NBA, Kenny Smith was gone from a mid-season trade the year prior, and Greg Kite signed with the Magic. Only Antoine Carr and Wayman Tisdale remained from the prior core rotation, plus Ralph Sampson and his Derek Smith-issue knees.

The four draft picks, Carr and Tisdale (despite Wayman missing 49 games), Sparrow, Wennington and Hansen would comprise nine of the top ten minutes eaters for the new roster. The 10th (and 7th overall in minutes)?

On New Year’s Eve, the Kings signed Jim Les to the first of two 10-day contracts. 20 days later he was signed for the rest of the season. Up to this point, Les had played 88 NBA games (82 for the Jazz in ’88-’89, 7 for Utah and the Clippers in ’89-’90 – he was 1-16 from three for his career). Les played 55 games for the Kings in his first of four seasons in Sacramento, converting a then absurd 71-154 threes for a then-and-now absurd conversion rate of 46.1%. The 5-11, 165 lb. point guard lit up ARCO Arena whenever he was on the floor. He may have been the first folk hero bench player for the Kings in the Sacramento era. For loss of a better description, Jim Les was fun.

NBA referee Leon Wood was Sacramento King Leon Wood for less than a month. The Kings were actually 5-7 in Wood’s twelve games, which is most certainly a better winning percentage than when he has refereed the Kings.

In January of 1991, the Kings traded Eric Leckner for the rights to International Unicorn Dejan Bodiroga. Bodiroga never did come over to the NBA, but it was fun to talk about the prospect of him for a few years.

The five rookies (add Rick Calloway, who was claimed from the Spurs in October) logged 8,270 of the team’s 19,705 minutes, a whopping 42%. This fan vibe was almost one of watching your kid and his friends play a little league game. You really pulled hard for these guys, never really got mad at them (exasperated, but never mad), and loved them as though they were your own.

But of all the coaches in all the world to have coach this young, precocious roster, we had (should it be a record scratch or the sound of an 8-track player changing tracks?) the Abe Simpson of the NBA sidelines, on Dick Motta. Yes, the Kings had a little Dick, which seem contradictory, considering that he was also Sacramento’s little purple pill. To be fair, the Kings were not going to win many more games with a different coach, but it seemed that Motta was hellbent on breaking the colts instead of letting them run, gun and have fun, sprinkling in the developmental dust along the way. I think about how Dave Joerger completely changed his approach to adjust to the roster that he was provided some years ago. Motta was not going to adjust. He seemed to think that he was bigger than any individual or the sum of the roster. They were going to bend to his will. I always felt that Motta was pissed to have to coach this squad, and the 1-13 start all but sealed it. The Kings would post a 25-57 season record.

But that did not matter to the ARCO faithful, who continued to sell out each and every one of the 17,014 seats. And the team rewarded the fans, going 24-17 at home (just don’t watch the road games on TV, where the Kings were 1-40). ARCO was a bit of a bear trap for visiting teams, between the raucous crowds and the substandard visiting player accommodations.

Reynolds’ Wrap:

“Rob’s summary of this forgettable season was totally spot on. I thought my sharing an unforgettable memory might be interesting, so here we go. The night before a Boston / Kings game as habit would have it, Larry Bird was visiting in Roseville. Yes, we were drinking a few beers, sharing some French Lickian memories and even discussing the upcoming game. Immediately, Larry mentioned that Coach Motta’s offense was very structured and easy to defend. I asked in what ways? Bird stated that he in fact knew the plays better than Kings players. I told him I very much doubted that. Larry quickly stated that he was aware of my seat under the basket and he would steal a pass on a favorite play call (the Get), hold the ball and stare at me. Didn’t give it much thought (mistake). Early in the 1st quarter, yep, he did it. Seemed like he looked at me for 5 minutes but likely 5 seconds. Still etched in the old brain. The lesson for me was just a reminder that a few players are at a level that not only move the needle, but control it!” – Jerry Reynolds

***

All-in-all, a fun season of Kings basketball, highlighted by competitive and thrilling play on the homecourt. There was a good, young foundation here, and the Kings had a pair of first round picks (almost three, considering that they also had a second rounder that was 31st overall) coming up. Cue up some Timbuk 3, and just Wait ‘til Next Year!

(Read about the years leading up to 1990 here.)