When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [18]
Leonard explained the dire situation of the Pacers franchise, which had recently merged with the NBA, along with the other teams in the American Basketball Association (ABA), and was on the verge of financial ruin. The team had offered its top free agent, Dan Roundfield, a $200,000 contract, "which was $200,000 we didn't have," Leonard said. But the Atlanta Hawks swooped in and offered Roundfield $450,000. Roundfield went for the bigger dollars and left the Pacers with a gaping hole in their lineup, as well as a difficult predicament to consider. Indiana wanted to draft Bird, but the franchise couldn't risk him going back to Indiana State for his senior season. They needed help immediately.
"Look, I can't wait a year," Slick told Bird. "Our franchise can't afford it. So if you are going back to school, you've got to tell me, because I'll trade the pick. But if you come out, I'll take you."
There was no hesitation in Bird's reply. He had promised his mother Georgia he would leave Indiana State with a degree. Although Georgia's financial situation was still tenuous, she remained steadfast in insisting that her son earn that diploma.
"My mom didn't care about the money," Bird explained. "She was hanging in there. It wasn't a life-or-death situation. If it was, maybe I would have made a different decision."
Leonard and Bird drained a couple more Heinekens before they amicably shook hands and parted ways. As he was leaving the Hyatt, Bird asked Jukes to hold on a moment. He hopped on the escalator, riding up, then down again, with childish delight.
Although he was disappointed that Bird would not be wearing a Pacers uniform, Slick was hardly devastated. At that time there were questions about Bird's body type, his quickness, and his temperament. No one was projecting him to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
"I liked Larry," Leonard said, "but, c'mon now. Nobody knew he was that good."
True to his word, Leonard dealt the number-one pick to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for guard Johnny Davis, center Clement Johnson, and the number-three pick in the 1978 draft, which the Pacers used to select Kentucky big man Rick Robey.
Now it was the Trailblazers' turn to woo the reluctant ISU forward. Bird was barraged with phone calls at his French Lick home from Portland executive Stu Inman. After a while, Georgia Bird, able to distinguish Inman's voice, would politely but firmly hang up the phone.
Inman's sales pitch to Bird included the prospect of playing alongside a certain future Hall of Famer.
"Larry," Inman said, "you are missing out on an opportunity to play with Bill Walton. He is one of the greatest centers ever to play the game."
"He's hurt all the time," Bird bluntly replied.
(Although Bird, who would later play alongside Walton with the Celtics during their 1986 championship season, counts Walton among his closest friends, he was accurate in his assessment. In Walton's first two seasons in the league, he broke his nose, wrist, and leg. After leading Portland to an NBA championship in the 1977 season, Walton broke his foot in 1978, played in just 58 games, and demanded a trade during the off-season because of what he perceived to be unethical treatment from the team doctors. When the Blazers refused to deal him, the big redhead sat out the entire 1978–79 season in protest. The broken foot led to a myriad of problems that severely hampered his career and later required him to undergo fusion surgery on his ankle.)
Although Bird was as adamant with the Blazers about his intentions to return to Indiana State, Portland remained undeterred, emptying its Rolodex in attempts to reach out to numerous contacts to whisper in Larry's ear.
"I swear Portland had everyone working it," Bird said. "Total strangers would come up to me and say, 'I can't believe you're not going to the pros! You have a chance to take care of your family for life. Why do you need to go to school?'
"I kept telling them, 'No, I'm going back. I'm going back.' I wasn't changing my mind."
Inman made some inquiries about Bird and discovered