Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Phoenix Suns are the centerpiece of the biggest what-if in NBA history

By Ryan Bawek

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 19, 1982 : Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a skyhook during a game against the Dallas Mavericks at The Forum, Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 19, 1982 : Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a skyhook during a game against the Dallas Mavericks at The Forum, Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 8
Next
Gail Goodrich (Photo by Ross Lewis/Getty Images).
Gail Goodrich (Photo by Ross Lewis/Getty Images). /

The Curious Case of Gail Goodrich

Let me start off this journey into an NBA history rabbit hole with this, Magic Johnson should have a shrine to Gail Goodrich in his house.

Why, you say?

Because if it wasn’t for Goodrich (and the NBA’s weird rules back in the day, a common theme in this piece) Magic could have spent his career with the Jazz.

Could you imagine Magic Johnson in a Jazz uniform? “Showtime” doesn’t have the same ring to it without the bright lights, cache and Lakers dancers in Los Angeles (he would have looked cool in those beautiful 1980s Jazz uniforms though and Jazz seems like an accurate moniker for his style of play).

Also. 30 greatest players in Suns history. light

Back to Goodrich:

The then New Orleans Jazz (makes a lot more sense than the Utah Jazz doesn’t it?) signed an aging Goodrich in 1976 to add some veteran leadership to a team that was only in its second year of existence. They tried to form a great backcourt with two over-the-hill Hall of Fame guards in Goodrich and Maravich to sell tickets and win games.

It didn’t work out and they moved to Utah in 1979.

The NBA greatly discouraged free agency at this time (the first fully recognized and open free agency didn’t happen until 1988 and the Phoenix Suns made the first big signing in free agency history, Tom Chambers!), and as such determined that the lowly Jazz needed to provide ample compensation to the mighty Lakers for signing away their 33-year-old guard (who promptly tore his Achilles by the way) so they constructed a deal with the two teams:

New Orleans Jazz Receive: Gail Goodrich, 1977 2nd Round Draft Pick, 1978 1st Round Draft Pick

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: 1977 1st Round Draft Pick, 1978 1st Round Draft Pick, 1979 1st Round Draft Pick, 1980 2nd Round Draft pick

Few quick thoughts here:

  • The NBA wasn’t always the forward-thinking league we know it as today, the idea that players almost had zero ability to choose where they played after their contract expired without repercussions is insanity. The league literally never could have envisioned the phenomenon that free agency would become 30 years later. In their defense, the Internet didn’t even exist yet or mobile phones of any kind.
  • The idea that you would punish a new and clearly fledging franchise from its inception in New Orleans, for attempting to acquire a great player to help them win and sell tickets, at the expense of a well-established franchise like the Lakers, is truly bonkers when looking at it today. But that is just how the league operated then.
  • Teams clearly did not value draft picks at this time, the scouting department was probably watching a few nationally televised college basketball games a season LOL.

I highlighted that 1979 1st Round Draft pick because it turned into none other than Magic Johnson.

The Jazz finished with the worst record in the league during the 1978-79 season at 26-56 and last place in the Eastern Conference (remember they were in New Orleans) and because of the NBA’s super cool rule (heavy sarcasm) to have a coin flip between the worst team in each conference to see who would get the No.1 pick in the draft, on April 19, 1979. This featured the Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.

History has a way of repeating itself.

Chicago Bulls General Manager, Rod Thorn, choose to make the call and on the coin flip and chose (you guessed it) heads. You know the rest, it came out tails once again (TAILS NEVER FAILS!) and low and behold because of the luck of the coin and another archaic and illogical NBA rule the Los Angeles Lakers now had the greatest point guard of all-time to team up with the greatest center of all-time to create the team of the 1980s in the NBA.

They would make the NBA Finals eight of 10 years during the 1980s and win five NBA Championships.

Home/Suns News