Washington and Sacramento Addressed Different Guard Needs
On October 30, 1990, the Washington Bullets traded Steve Colter to the Sacramento Kings for second-year shooting guard Byron Irvin. The Washington Post described Colter as a veteran backup point guard who wanted a larger role and had fallen out of step with how coach Wes Unseld wanted him to play. The Bullets expected Irvin to provide a more natural shooting-guard option, while Colter welcomed a move west where he could handle more of the offense. The Kings had acquired Irvin only during the previous summer’s Danny Ainge transaction, so this was an unusually quick second move for the young guard. No future picks or extra players were included.
Colter Did Not Become Sacramento’s Lead Guard
Colter played only 19 Kings regular-season games in 1990-91, never starting and averaging 13.2 minutes, 3.1 points and 1.9 assists. The move therefore did not give him the major ball-handling opportunity he had wanted. Sacramento’s early-season guard rotation continued to shift and Colter was gone before the end of the year. He later played elsewhere, but those later seasons cannot be credited to Sacramento. His 19 games were a modest direct return from a player who had been Washington’s reserve point guard, and the Kings C grade is best read as limited but real veteran depth. The original Washington Post report explains the fit the club was pursuing, which did not develop as hoped.
Irvin Also Remained on the Fringe in Washington
Irvin appeared in 33 Bullets games that season with four starts, averaging 5.2 points in 9.6 minutes. He offered some scoring from the two-guard spot but did not settle into a sustained role. Washington ended up receiving 14 more games and slightly greater point production than the Kings obtained from Colter, although the players occupied different positions. Neither became a long-term building block, and no draft asset survived for either club. With C grades for both teams, the canonical Even Trade verdict fits this two-player test of roster needs. The value came from a short stretch of regular-season playing time rather than later career milestones.
Final Verdict
Even Trade. Sacramento gets C for 19 games of Steve Colter backup-point-guard work. Washington also gets C for Byron Irvin’s 33 appearances and 5.2 points per game. Both clubs tried to address a particular backcourt need; neither found a durable solution.