coastalmarker99
12-16-2020, 09:23 PM
Curious on how a playoff team with Kareem could pick Magic #1 overall in 1979, and then pick Worthy #1 overall in 1982 coming off a championship? Well, due to the insane free agency rules at the time, the New Orleans Jazz had to compensate the Lakers when Gail Goodrich signed with them in 1976. Goodrich was a 5-time All-Star who'd been on the 1972 Lakers title team with Wilt and Jerry West (the team that won 33 straight games).
The compensation was decided to be the Jazz's 1977, 1978, and 1979 first-round picks, plus their 1980 second-round pick, in exchange for the Lakers' 1978 first-rounder and 1977 second-rounder, plus Goodrich. Goodrich would only play three seasons with the Jazz. His last season there was in 78-79, when the team went 26-56 and ended up with the 1979 #1 overall pick. None of the other picks became anyone significant.
Hilariously, Elgin Baylor was the Head Coach of those Jazz, meaning two of the key figures of the Lakers' previous title runs were responsible through their ineptitude for the Lakers having the Showtime dynasty fall into their lap.
Well, actually there was still a coin flip to decide who got the #1 pick and who got the #2 pick, even though the Jazz had the outright worst record (dumb old rule). The Jazz/Lakers won the toss, and the Chicago Bulls lost. Theoretically, if they'd won that toss, the Bulls could have later paired Magic with Jordan, though getting Magic probably would've meant they wouldn't've been in position to pick Jordan 5 years later.
So if the coin flips the other way--or if the Jazz had realized how stupid it was to trade a bunch of first rounders for an aging All-Star--the Lakers never get Magic, Showtime happens somewhere else, and Kareem likely wins between zero and two more titles rather than five. His career stats might've taken a big hit too--Magic was the GOAT point god and his passing def helped Kareem as he aged, and Kareem might've retired earlier if he wasn't sticking around to ring-chase.
SUMMARY: The Lakers lucked into Magic because the Jazz made an idiotic trade, and then they won a coin toss with the Bulls to get the #1 overall pick. If either thing doesn't happen, Kareem a top 3 player of all time doesn't get any Showtime rings and likely finishes with just one or two rings for his career.
Which as a result would drastically change the views that people have of Kareem's legacy.
What about Worthy, you say? That's less important, but in the 79-80 season, the Lakers traded Don Ford plus their 1980 first rounder to the Cleveland Cavs for Butch Lee and their 1982 first rounder. Both guys were single digit scorers, with Ford slapping up a mighty 3-2-0.5 in 52 games for the Lakers during the season they traded him. He played 106 games for the Cavs before they released him. Lee did even less for the Lakers.
The pick the Lakers traded was #22 in 1980, which the Cavs used to select His Highness Chad Kinch (don't sweat it Cavs fans, you're champs now, unlike those poor, poor Jazz). The Cavs had the worst record in 81-82, and the Lakers won the coin toss over the San Diego Clippers for the first pick.
The Lakers took Worthy #1 overall, the Clippers took two-time All-Star Terry Cummings at #2, and the now-Utah Jazz took Dominique Wilkins at #3... .... ... and promptly traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and $1 million in cash.
The Jazz were having cash flow problems in Utah, and Wilkins was reluctant to play there. I can only speculate that maybe if they'd held on to the Magic pick, the Jazz might have had more financial success and improved their cash flow. And knowing their luck, the reason for the move in 1979 was because of a lack of fan support, which excitement over Magic might have mitigated.
Basically, I'm postulating that the Jazz probably could have had Magic and Nique, and their own version of Showtime. They also won 0 titles with Adrian Dantley, Darrell Griffith, Jeff Hornacek, Mark Eaton, John Stockton, and Karl Malone throughout the 80s and 90s.
SUMMARY: The Lakers also lucked into Big Game James, this time via the Cavs. The Jazz got ****ed again, and would get ****ed more in the coming decades. The Clippers also got kinda ****ed, and then kinda ****ed up themselves, but not all that badly. Worthy was important to Showtime, but not nearly as important as Magic.
One last Fun Fact: Hakeem claims in his autobiography that the Rockets were offered a trade of Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and Michael Jordan for Ralph Sampson. Drexler was Hakeem's college teammate from Phi Slama Jama, and topped out at a LeBron-esque 27-8-6 on 50% shooting with 2.5 steals in his best season. Sampson was a 7'4 college phenom who got injured and ultimately disappointed in the NBA.
SUMMARY: Jordan could've potentially ended up playing with either Magic on the Bulls, or Hakeem and Drexler on the Rockets. Instead, Kareem lucked into two #1 overall picks that turned into Magic and Worthy. Magic is nice for not minding Kareem usurping his spot in the GOAT conversation.
The compensation was decided to be the Jazz's 1977, 1978, and 1979 first-round picks, plus their 1980 second-round pick, in exchange for the Lakers' 1978 first-rounder and 1977 second-rounder, plus Goodrich. Goodrich would only play three seasons with the Jazz. His last season there was in 78-79, when the team went 26-56 and ended up with the 1979 #1 overall pick. None of the other picks became anyone significant.
Hilariously, Elgin Baylor was the Head Coach of those Jazz, meaning two of the key figures of the Lakers' previous title runs were responsible through their ineptitude for the Lakers having the Showtime dynasty fall into their lap.
Well, actually there was still a coin flip to decide who got the #1 pick and who got the #2 pick, even though the Jazz had the outright worst record (dumb old rule). The Jazz/Lakers won the toss, and the Chicago Bulls lost. Theoretically, if they'd won that toss, the Bulls could have later paired Magic with Jordan, though getting Magic probably would've meant they wouldn't've been in position to pick Jordan 5 years later.
So if the coin flips the other way--or if the Jazz had realized how stupid it was to trade a bunch of first rounders for an aging All-Star--the Lakers never get Magic, Showtime happens somewhere else, and Kareem likely wins between zero and two more titles rather than five. His career stats might've taken a big hit too--Magic was the GOAT point god and his passing def helped Kareem as he aged, and Kareem might've retired earlier if he wasn't sticking around to ring-chase.
SUMMARY: The Lakers lucked into Magic because the Jazz made an idiotic trade, and then they won a coin toss with the Bulls to get the #1 overall pick. If either thing doesn't happen, Kareem a top 3 player of all time doesn't get any Showtime rings and likely finishes with just one or two rings for his career.
Which as a result would drastically change the views that people have of Kareem's legacy.
What about Worthy, you say? That's less important, but in the 79-80 season, the Lakers traded Don Ford plus their 1980 first rounder to the Cleveland Cavs for Butch Lee and their 1982 first rounder. Both guys were single digit scorers, with Ford slapping up a mighty 3-2-0.5 in 52 games for the Lakers during the season they traded him. He played 106 games for the Cavs before they released him. Lee did even less for the Lakers.
The pick the Lakers traded was #22 in 1980, which the Cavs used to select His Highness Chad Kinch (don't sweat it Cavs fans, you're champs now, unlike those poor, poor Jazz). The Cavs had the worst record in 81-82, and the Lakers won the coin toss over the San Diego Clippers for the first pick.
The Lakers took Worthy #1 overall, the Clippers took two-time All-Star Terry Cummings at #2, and the now-Utah Jazz took Dominique Wilkins at #3... .... ... and promptly traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and $1 million in cash.
The Jazz were having cash flow problems in Utah, and Wilkins was reluctant to play there. I can only speculate that maybe if they'd held on to the Magic pick, the Jazz might have had more financial success and improved their cash flow. And knowing their luck, the reason for the move in 1979 was because of a lack of fan support, which excitement over Magic might have mitigated.
Basically, I'm postulating that the Jazz probably could have had Magic and Nique, and their own version of Showtime. They also won 0 titles with Adrian Dantley, Darrell Griffith, Jeff Hornacek, Mark Eaton, John Stockton, and Karl Malone throughout the 80s and 90s.
SUMMARY: The Lakers also lucked into Big Game James, this time via the Cavs. The Jazz got ****ed again, and would get ****ed more in the coming decades. The Clippers also got kinda ****ed, and then kinda ****ed up themselves, but not all that badly. Worthy was important to Showtime, but not nearly as important as Magic.
One last Fun Fact: Hakeem claims in his autobiography that the Rockets were offered a trade of Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and Michael Jordan for Ralph Sampson. Drexler was Hakeem's college teammate from Phi Slama Jama, and topped out at a LeBron-esque 27-8-6 on 50% shooting with 2.5 steals in his best season. Sampson was a 7'4 college phenom who got injured and ultimately disappointed in the NBA.
SUMMARY: Jordan could've potentially ended up playing with either Magic on the Bulls, or Hakeem and Drexler on the Rockets. Instead, Kareem lucked into two #1 overall picks that turned into Magic and Worthy. Magic is nice for not minding Kareem usurping his spot in the GOAT conversation.