[2][3][4] The team decided to add youth to their roster with the addition of four rookies; Lawrence Funderburke out of Ohio State University, who was drafted by the Kings in the second round of the 1994 NBA draft,[5] top draft pick Tariq Abdul-Wahad out of San José State University,[6] second-round draft pick Anthony Johnson out of the College of Charleston, and undrafted rookie center Michael Stewart from the University of California.
[8] At mid-season, the team traded Michael Smith, and Bobby Hurley to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for former Kings forward Otis Thorpe, and second-year guard Chris Robinson.
[9][10][11][12] However, with a 26–36 record as of March 6, 1998, the Kings struggled losing 19 of their final 20 games, including a 12-game losing streak and seven straight losses to end the season;[13] they finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 27–55 record, which was fourteen games behind the 8th-seeded Houston Rockets.
[25][26][23][24] For the first time since moving to Sacramento, the Kings failed to sell out a home game at the ARCO Arena II on November 6, 1997, ending their 497-game sellout streak.
[27] Following the season, Richmond was traded along with Thorpe to the Washington Wizards after seven seasons in Sacramento,[28][29][30][31][32] while Owens and Olden Polynice both signed as free agents with the Seattle SuperSonics, whom Polynice used to play for,[33][34][35] Johnson signed with the Atlanta Hawks,[36] Stewart signed with the Toronto Raptors,[37] Abdul-Rauf left to play overseas in Turkey,[21][22] and head coach Eddie Jordan was fired.