Sonic fans had high hopes following the 1971-72 season. But as the summer of 1972 progressed, their hopes diminished. Lenny Wilkens, head coach and a star player, was traded to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers for Butch Beard.

The loss of Wilkens, as well as the loss of some key defensive players, plummeted Seattle into the depths of the league. Seattle ended up with the second worst record in its history, 26-56.

Are They Stupid or What? The Coach Gets Traded

GM Bob Houbregs apparently had decided that since Lenny was getting old (he was 35 and entering his 13th season), it would be best to get rid of him before he was untradeable. Lenny was sent to Cleveland in return for a promising young point guard, Butch Beard. Beard had started his career as a bench player for Atlanta, then sat out a year due to injury, and in his third year had started for Cleveland, averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 assists, but missed 14 games due to ... you guessed it, injury.

It's not clear what Houbregs actually was thinking when he pulled the trigger on that trade, but Cleveland's record improved by 9 games while the Sonics' record went down by 21 games. Beard was a smart player and had talent, but he wasn't "The Coach on the Floor," Lenny Wilkens. And while Lenny's playing career lasted only 3 more years, Beard would spend only one year as a Sonic. (In defense of Beard, he did win a championship a few years later starting for the Warriors.)

Tom Nissalke replaced Wilkens as head coach of the Sonics, and Bucky Buckwalter was his assistant.

Fans were furious at the trade. And why not? Why mess with last year's success?

Attendance plunged to 9,400 per game, down by about 1,600 per contest compared with the previous season.

Other Players Leave Too

Valuable backup Pete Cross spent most of the season injured, first riding the bench for the Kansas City Omaha Kings and then for 26 games with Seattle. Don Kojis joined Cross in K.C., while Seattle in return received Jim Fox, a serviceable but unspectacular starting center who had been with several teams over the past 5 years. Starting center Zaid Abdul-Aziz went to the Houston Rockets (and missed 24 games for them) while Seattle signed McCoy McLemore from Houston (he missed 23 games for Seattle.) Gar Heard was traded early in the season to Buffalo for a draft pick. And despite the failure of Jim McDaniels, owner Sam Schulman went to the "ABA well" once again, signing star John Brisker. Also, the Sonics signed their first-round pick, shooting guard Bud Stallworth.

On the positive side, there was still Spencer Haywood, Dick Snyder and Lee Winfield. Plus, Fred Brown would have a chance to show what he could do as well.

Lenny Returns to Seattle

When the Cleveland Cavaliers came to Seattle on Nov. 12, 1972, the fans gave Lenny a standing ovation in pregame warmups. In fact, a majority of the fans cheered for the Cavs and booed the Sonics. And most Sonic players didn't appear to mind -- they understood what the booing was about. Fans put signs up such as "This is Lenny's Country" and "Bomb Tom" -- referring to Tom Nissalke, the unpopular coach. It didn't help that the Sonics were 4-10 at the time. The Sonics lost the game and Lenny scored 22 points, had 9 assists, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The Sonics meanwhile continued on their losing streak. After starting the season 4-4 (with wins over cupcake teams such as the lowly Trailblazers and the awful 76ers), the Sonics lost 9 straight to go 4-13. After 35 games, Nissalke was fired with a 13-32 record. Assistant coach Bucky Buckwalter took over and the team went on a 13 18 "hot streak," but then suddenly realized the futility of it all and finished the season with 6 straight losses.

The 26-56 Sonics were a horrible 16-25 at home, 10-29 on the road, and 0-2 on neutral courts. This was not a happy season for Sonics fans.

The Lineup:

Starting Center: Jim Fox at 6-10 and 230 had bounced from team to team for 5 years before settling with Seattle. He was slow and not much of a jumper, but he at least was used to banging against big centers, and he didn't take many stupid shots. He averaged 11.4 points on 51.5% shooting from the field and 80.8% shooting from the line. Also, he averaged 11.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He was not much of a shot blocker. Though he was often ridiculed as just another "slow white guy" he was, actually, a valuable asset for the Sonics -- a relatively healthy big man who had a basically sound game. He missed only 8 games due to injury that season.

Starting Power Forward: Spencer Haywood, 6-9 and 230, seemed to have recovered from his knee injury, for the most part, although he blocked fewer shots. The Sonics needed his inside scoring, and Haywood was happy to oblige them. He averaged 29.2 points (3rd in the league), 12.9 rebounds (10th in the league), and 2.5 assists per game. His shooting was good from inside and out (47.6% field goals, 83.9% free throws.) The main reason to watch the Sonics in those days was to see Spencer work his magic with the ball. He was on the court much of the time, too -- he averaged over 42 minutes per game. For the second year in a row, he was named to the All-NBA 1st team. He was also a starter in the NBA All-Star game.

Starting Small Forward: John Brisker was 6-5 and 210, and as tough as nails. No, change that -- nails were afraid of him too. In three seasons in the ABA he had averaged 26 points and 8 rebounds per game. And he would punch a guy's lights out at the drop of an eyelash. Stories about him abound -- one story I heard was that in an ABA all-star game, Brisker approached the ABA commissioner right after the game and demanded to be paid on the spot. The official wisely saw to it that Brisker got his money right away. Few picked a fight with Brisker -- if they did, it was always with a sucker punch, with a hope that the other players would intervene before Brisker found you. Because of his tough reputation, Sam Schulman probably thought Brisker played defense. But in many people's opinion, Brisker was one of the worst defensive players in the history of pro basketball, and proved it night in and night out for the Sonics. He made guys like Fred Brown and Dick Snyder look like defensive stoppers. At times he literally ignored guys dribbling past him and let them have an easy lay up. He also was a gunner -- he rarely passed. But at least he could score. He played 3 seasons with Seattle, then soon after disappeared, possibly working as a soldier of fortune in Uganda, and in the 1980's was declared legally dead by a U.S. court. In 1972-73, in a mere 23 minutes per game, he averaged 12.8 points on 43.5% shooting (82.2% from the line), 4.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.

Starting Shooting Guard: Dick Snyder, at 6-5, averaged 13.8 points per game on only 46.3% from the field -- very bad shooting for him, possibly because injuries had slowed him and he was easier to guard. He played 37 minutes per game -- Seattle had few other choices. He also averaged about 4 rebounds and 4 assists per contest. Because of his size he saw time at forward as well.

Starting Point Guard: Fred Brown, at 6-3, 185, had played little in his rookie season, partly due to injuries and partly due to poor play. Coaches complained about his poor work ethic, but the guy was a super offensive player. He had an array of shots and was a good passer with relatively good court vision. His overall defense was poor -- sometimes he was lackadaisical, sometimes he took too many risks (he wanted the ball!), but overall he played well for a second-year guy. In 30 minutes per game, he averaged 13.5 points, 4 rebounds and 5.5 assists. But he was playing out of position -- he thought about shooting first, not passing. I've gone into more detail on his shooting abilities in the 1973-74 history.

Backups:

Center Jim McDaniels was 7-0 and stick-thin. His body was not made to bang inside with other centers, and that limited him to a bench role. He was too expensive to waive. He played in 68 games that year, for 16 minutes per contest, and averaged 5.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. He shot only 39.9% from the field - his body apparently was hurting too much to let him shoot well.

Forward Kennedy McIntosh, 6-7 and 225, backed up both forward positions. He played in 56 out of 79 games he was with the club, averaged about 20 minutes per game, 4.5 points, 4 rebounds, and a mere 32.6% shooting. He earned playing time because he played good defense.

Guard Bud Stallworth, 6-5 and 190, was the team's first-round draft pick. He struggled in his rookie season, and in 16 minutes per contest he averaged 6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and less than one assist.

Guard Lee Winfield was relegated to a bench role because of injury problems and because of changes in the lineup. He had lost some of his quickness. In 20 minutes per game he averaged 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.

Guard Butch Beard, whom the Sonics had obtained for Lenny Wilkens, did not seem to fit into the team -- perhaps partly due to nagging injuries, and partly due to fans having never warmed to him. After all, he was the guy who'd replaced their idol, Lenny Wilkens. Beard played in 73 games that season, but played only 20 minutes per contest and averaged 6.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a career low 43.9% shooting from the field.

Team Notes:

The Sonics were 15th out of 17 teams in points scored (103.7 per game), not surprising given the lack of a quality point guard. They were 11th out of 17 teams in field goal percentage (44.9%). On defense, they allowed 109.6 points, which was 8th best, since they often played a slow-down style of game. However, their defense was not as atrocious as it had been in the early years (Fox and Haywood helped make sure of that.) They also limited opponents to a moderate field goal percentage (45.4%).

Because of the addition of former ABA stars -- Haywood, McDaniels, and Brisker -- the Sonics were one of the highest-paid teams in the league. They had the third worst record in the league, ahead of Portland (21-61) and Philadelphia (9-73).

To move out of the league gutter, the Sonics needed help. Sam Schulman would see that they got it.

A former Celtic, once known as the greatest defensive player in the history of the league, was coming to coach the Sonics.