With the NBA draft looming, Warriors fans can comfort themselves with the knowledge that the team cannot have its worst-ever draft. No way the W's can top bottom? what they did in 1978 and 1980.
Phil Jackson's 10th NBA title set off a mini-debate over best coach - Jackson 10 titles or Celtics legend Red Auerbach 9? Correct answer: Jackson. Auerbach was an excellent coach, but he coached a glut of stars rounded up by his general manager ... Red Auerbach. Auerbach destroyed the Warriors for a decade, and the fallout lingers, maybe. It's a story so gruesome it should be told every Halloween.
In 1978, Auerbach drafted Larry Bird with the No. 6 overall pick. Bird was a junior at Indiana State and would stay for his senior season, but Auerbach knew Bird was draft-eligible because his class graduated that rule was quickly changed.
The Celtics grabbed Bird and waited a year to sign him. The Warriors drafted No. 5, just ahead of Boston, and took Purvis Short.
Before the '80 draft the Warriors traded Robert Parish then a solid young center and their top draft pick to the Celts for two top picks. The Warriors used their new picks on Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown. The Celtics took Kevin McHale.
To review: the Warriors could have had Bird, Parish and McHale, and maybe five or six NBA titles.
But wait, it's not just ancient history! McHale became GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves and two years ago gifted Kevin Garnett to the Celtics, giving Boston at least one more NBA title. Had McHale been a Warriors' alum, he might have sent Garnett to your Warriors .
Enjoy the draft!
