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| 1989-90 |
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In the 1989 NBA Draft Lottery the Clippers lucked out once again, this time winning the second overall pick. Los Angeles selected Duke's Danny Ferry, but Ferry refused to sign with the struggling club and opted instead to play professionally in Italy. General Manager Elgin Baylor effectively stopped the bleeding when, two weeks into the 1989-90 season, he traded Ferry's rights along with Reggie Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ron Harper, a pair of first-round draft choices, and a second-round pick. (Ferry would return to the United States and join the Cavs for the 1990-91 season.)
The 1989-90 Clippers seemed to be a talented team on the rise. The club now featured such promising young players as Manning, Smith, Harper, and Norman. The team had also stockpiled several No. 1 picks in the coming years. But bad luck continued to plague the franchise. Los Angeles had won six of seven games in mid-January to climb to 16-19 when Harper tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was lost for the season-the same type of injury that had knocked Manning out the year before. In 28 games with the Clippers he averaged 23.0 points. The injury took the wind out of the Clippers' sails, and the team won only 14 more games the rest of the way, finishing at 30-52. Manning returned from injury to play 71 games and average 16.3 points and 5.9 rebounds, leading the team in field-goal percentage at .533. Smith had a splendid all-around season, contributing 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.53 blocks per contest. Norman (16.1 ppg) also made strong offensive contributions, while Benoit Benjamin led the team in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and blocked shots (2.63 per game). |
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