In 1998, the landscape of the Sacramento Kings was different than it was in prior years. The team just traded away their franchise player, Mitch Richmond, along with Otis Thorpe to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber. Two months later, with the seventh overall pick, the Kings then drafted a relatively unknown point guard, Jason Williams.
The Kings then added Rick Adelman as their head coach. Adelman led the Portland Trail Blazers to two NBA Finals appearances but was coming off of a disastrous run as the Head Coach for the Golden State Warriors (finished with a total record of 66-99).