The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 582 - 6: Socialist Basketball

Jerry West did not linger in Portland. He could not permanently stay in Gan Guoyang’s townhouse without leaving the house, as there were many things in Los Angeles that he had to take care of, such as persuading his family to go to Portland with him, which was no easy task.

After finalizing all the details of the draft and helping Buckwalter draft the trade plans, West secretly returned to Los Angeles three days before the draft.

So far, other than the core management of the Trail Blazers, only his good friend Willie knew that he was going to sign with the Trail Blazers.

Willie was not part of the NBA circle. After graduation, he stayed in Logan City, West Virginia, to coach high school basketball, where he achieved impressive results and earned great respect locally.

Upon knowing West’s decision, Willie supported him greatly. He said, "Buddy, you should leave that Lakers circus and try your luck elsewhere. You’ve been too hurt and miserable there, haven’t you? Their temperament does not suit you, Portland would be a better fit, although it doesn’t have much sunshine."

West replied, "No worries, there’s a big sun in the Trail Blazers."

With his friend’s support, West’s resolve grew even stronger. He did not hate the Lakers; the Lakers were still his home, a place that haunted his dreams.

But sometimes, a man has to leave home to make his way, especially when that home could no longer contain him.

Back in Los Angeles, people from the Lakers had been trying to get in touch with West. Buss, that indecisive fellow, was still trying to rebuild their relationship, but West had no interest in dealing with him anymore; he waited quietly for the 1989 draft to begin.

On June 27, the new draft would take place at the New York Madison Felt Forum.

Located directly beneath the Madison Square Garden Arena, this multifunctional hall could accommodate 5,000 people and host various events.

Most of the NBA’s drafts took place here.

Based on the previous lottery, the Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, and San Antonio Spurs secured the first three picks.

From the third pick onward, starting from the fourth place, the ranking was based on the teams’ regular-season records, with the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Hornets ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

The Chicago Bulls had the sixth pick obtained in a trade from the New Jersey Nets.

The seventh to ninth places belonged to the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, and Boston Celtics, respectively.

The Celtics’ fall had been swift; in ’88, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and battled the Bullets in seven games.

But by ’89, they had completely declined, unable to adapt to the NBA’s new conditions coupled with Bird’s severe back injury, which kept them out of the playoffs.

This year, the league had added two new teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, bringing the total number of first-round draft picks to 27.

Another expansion draft made this draft even more complex, with all teams conducting extensive preparations before the draft.

Buckwalter arrived in New York a day early. He communicated over the phone with Jerry West, who was far away in Los Angeles, to exchange information and opinions.

Jerry West was very nervous; he always kept a cool expression despite the fiery enthusiasm inside him which made him easily tense and excited.

Buckwalter was also nervous, as targeting others at the draft was quite uncommon at that time.

Auerbach had pulled off this maneuver multiple times in the past—Bill Russell and Parrish, McHale were classic examples.

But such actions earned resentment; as glorious as the Celtics had been, current and future Celtics were just as desolate.

From Stern to various team managers, everyone guarded against the Celtics. Auerbach originally wanted to use Fleisher to balance his relationship with Stern and establish good connections with the Players Union.

But with Fleisher’s death, Auerbach’s efforts were in vain, and now the entire Celtics team faced being targeted and marginalized by the league. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

This was Buckwalter’s first time pulling such a stunt, and being nervous was inevitable. On the phone, he asked West again, "What if the Lakers refuse to trade?"

West told Buckwalter, "If they don’t trade, they don’t. We’ll just keep Divac for ourselves; he’s a talented player."

"But we already have Sabonis and Ah Gan. Besides, Divac was a competitor against Sabonis in the Olympics, and Petrović is also from Yugoslavia, but one is Croat and the other is Serb. Isn’t that making our locker room relationships too complicated?"

West said, "Didn’t you say that with Ah Gan on the team, locker room issues shouldn’t be a concern?"

Buckwalter was left speechless, unable to take back his own words.

Moreover, West was right; if Divac really was exceptionally skilled, they should seize or keep him.

Buckwalter thought of Yin Man, who had sacrificed himself for Walton, resigning from his position as general manager.

Now, Buckwalter was doing the same, bound to undertake an action that would spark public controversy, leading to inevitable conflicts with Los Angeles.

Let the Lakers suffer a bit; I’ll bear the infamy.

Aside from Divac’s draft, Buckwalter was busy preparing another transaction.

The Trail Blazers hoped to use Cheche Vandeweghe to trade for Mike-Sanders, the shooting guard from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mike-Sanders was to become a free agent that summer, but the Trail Blazers no longer had the salary cap space to sign him directly, with Vandeweghe occupying a million US Dollars of it.