The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 542 - 44 Gone with the Wind

This wasn’t the first time Hornacek had delivered such a spectacular buzzer-beater.

In March Madness 1986, during the NCAA National Tournament first-round game between Iowa State and Ohio University, Hornacek made a nearly identical game-winning shot.

With only 2 seconds left in the game, he took a sideline pass from a teammate at a 45-degree angle on the left and shot to kill, propelling Iowa State into the Sweet 16.

The shot made Hornacek famous, the one that got him noticed by NBA scouts.

Otherwise, even with his father’s recommendation, it would have been tough for him to break into the NBA, as he seemingly lacked the physical attributes and looked too sincere.

Now, after more than a season of hard work, staying behind every day for shooting practice with Ah Gan, Curry, and Porter, Hornacek’s improvement had been rapid.

From barely surviving a single practice session at the beginning, he had now become an important substitute on the Trail Blazers’ bench.

It was because of his versatility and potential that the Trail Blazers had the confidence to let go of Jim Paxson.

This buzzer-beater was clear proof that Hornacek was a promising player.

A beautiful victory helped the Trail Blazers avoid a season sweep by the Lakers.

As they were both in the Pacific Division, they still had one more game to play against each other by the end of the season. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

After the crucial win over the Lakers, the entire Trail Blazers team was exhausted.

Subsequently, they narrowly won their away game against the Los Angeles Clippers, barely avoiding a breakdown.

The Clippers had already become an utterly tanking team, with Gene Shue returning for a second stint in hopes of revitalizing his reputation as a "fixer."

But the Clippers were truly rotten to the core, and Shue had no usable players, which left him with impossible tasks.

Moreover, a head coach’s peak is about 15 to 20 years; anything beyond that and it’s rare to see any breakthrough progress, as they gradually fall out of touch with the times.

This is a natural law, much like the career span of players.

Gene Shue once led many struggling teams out of the mire, climbing to the top bit by bit.

Although he never reached the ultimate throne, success isn’t only measured by winning championships.

Having conflicts with Charles Barkley last season and ultimately getting kicked out was a huge blow to him.

He had hoped to lead Barkley and the Bullets to the finals, but it ended in an unhappy separation.

Among all the teams he had coached, the Clippers were the only one he couldn’t fix.

So he returned to the Clippers this season to give it another try, but the situation with the Clippers proved to be irrevocably bad.

In his 50s and reaching the later stages of his coaching career, Gene Shue couldn’t reassemble the team.

In this match against the Trail Blazers, the Clippers were able to battle till the end mainly because the Trail Blazers were too tired, physically and emotionally relaxed, giving the Clippers a chance.

In the last phase of the game, the Trail Blazers powered through a few key offensive and defensive plays and managed to secure the win.

109:107, the narrow two-point victory.

At the end of the game, Gene Shue and Jack Ramsay shook hands and embraced.

Seeing Ramsay lead the Trail Blazers forward towards the championship, Gene Shue expressed his envy, while Jack Ramsay said, "I’m just being pushed forward, this is no longer our era."

Ever since the Trail Blazers won the championship last year with Gan Guoyang’s "one vs. four" strategy, Ramsay no longer had the right to say Gene Shue’s tactics were outdated.

Gene Shue was the originator of the "one vs. four" strategy, using it to lead the Bullets and the 76ers to the finals.

But he never won the championship, and ironically, it was his old rival Ramsay who used the same strategy to win the title.

Ramsay’s words left Gene Shue feeling sentimental; having coached since 1966, he knew all too well how much the NBA had changed.

The older generation of coaches was gradually fading away; the league no longer suited them.

"Do you remember the trip to Hawaii in 1980?" asked Gene Shue.

"I remember, at the meeting I opposed the three-point shot, while you supported it. We argued non-stop and nearly came to blows. It was Cunningham and Wilkens who broke us up."

"True, but now the Trail Blazers shoot more threes than any other team."

"I said I’m being pushed forward, not leading, I’m falling behind," he said.

"Jack, you really have changed a lot, it’s unbelievable."

"There’s nothing unbelievable about it... Do you still have that tape?"

"The tape? Oh, yes, I still have it, take it out from time to time to have a laugh."

"Make me a copy, I think I might need it later, to keep as a memento."

The videotape Ramsay mentioned was from a game between the Trail Blazers and the Bullets, when everyone at courtside was sitting on metal folding chairs.

Ramsay got very excited during the game, often standing up from his chair to yell at the referees.

Referee Jack Madden warned Ramsay not to keep standing up, or he’d receive a technical foul.

Ramsay couldn’t help but stand up again; as soon as he did, he remembered the referee’s warning and hurriedly sat back down.

Unfortunately, the chair had moved back a bit when he got up, and he didn’t sit down properly, landing hard on the floor.

Jack Madden, instead of offering comfort, issued Ramsay a technical foul.

The game was broadcast live, and afterwards Gene Shue edited and saved the clip of the incident. He not only played it in the locker room but also cosplayed Ramsay’s fall, causing the Bullets players to burst into laughter.

Because of this incident, coupled with an argument in Hawaii in 1980, there was some unpleasantness between the two.

Now, when both realized that their coaching lives wouldn’t last much longer, they let go of those petty grievances and allowed them to be carried away by the wind.

Ramsay had come to terms with everything; he no longer had such a strong obsession with winning or losing, correspondingly he was not as harsh on his players, and he certainly wouldn’t wander the streets in the middle of the night after a road loss.

He had only one thought now, to make it to the playoffs, win the championship, and end his coaching career perfectly.

March came, and the playoffs drew ever closer.

At this time, the issue of the Players Union dissolution entered a new phase.

Fleisher’s office had collected the ballots of all players from all 23 teams; out of 276 active players, 268 voted in favor of dissolution, with the remaining 8 abstaining, making the approval rate for dissolution an astonishing 99%.

Fleisher quickly relayed this news to the League, and David Stern was truly panicked now; he knew Fleisher meant business.

If the Union actually dissolved, the League and Union wouldn’t be able to reach a labor agreement, and then teams would have to negotiate individually with each player, with every player signing a personalized contract based on their own demands.

Forget the salary cap; issues like wages, medical treatment, and injury insurance would all have to be dealt with one-on-one by the teams, which would be hugely problematic.

Just a few hours after the message was delivered, Stern called Fleisher to schedule a meeting to negotiate.

This time the negotiation wasn’t Stern vs. Fleisher, because the League knew these two had deep grievances and had clashed too many times, fearing they might end up fighting during the negotiation.

So, for this negotiation, the League’s main figure was Bullets’ owner Pollin.

He had a good relationship with Fleisher, and since both of them had similar life experiences, there was a resonance between them.

With a new negotiating strategy and counterpart, the labor and management talks went much more smoothly.

A few weeks later, even before the regular season ended, both sides reached a preliminary agreement.

Fleisher had insisted on three major demands, concerning the salary cap and the draft, which the labor side knew were immovable, so they chose to compromise by not insisting on them.

However, on the issue of free agency for players, Fleisher insisted firmly, demanding that after their contracts expired, players should be free to transfer without any restrictions, and that the new team should not have to give the original team draft picks, cash compensation, or anything else.

Seeing that Fleisher gave up trying to undermine the NBA completely, and with Pollin mediating, Stern finally agreed to lift the restrictions on the transfer of free agents.

Of course, a complete lift was impossible; negotiations or specific contract clauses could still happen, which is why there are restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents.

At the same time, Stern promised that the 1988 draft would be reduced to two rounds, after all, most players beyond the second round could not get into the League, making it a waste and tarnishing the NBA’s image with all sorts of random selections.

Stern also ensured that in the near future, he would at least double the salary cap to increase players’ incomes.

Fleisher’s battle had finally borne fruit, and both sides reached a seven-year agreement, expiring in the 1994 season.

The League would have seven years to develop without worrying about labor relations issues.

What made Stern happier was that Larry Fleisher, his biggest opponent, was finally about to retire and leave the Union.

Everything from the past would be gone with the wind.