On this day in Boston Celtics history, President of Basketball Operations Red Auerbach pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history in 1980. Auerbach dealt a pair of first-round picks used to select big man Joe Barry Carroll and center Rickey Brown to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for big man Robert Parish and the draft pick used to select Kevin McHale.
In one fell swoop, Boston’s head honcho scooped up two-thirds of one of the greatest frontcourts ever assembled. Forward Larry Bird, who had already been drafted, completed the trio that win titles together in 1981, 1984, and 1986.
It is also the anniversary of the 1978 NBA draft, in which the Celtics took three players of note.
They selected small forward Jeff Judkins out of Utah with the 30th pick of the draft.
Judkins played two seasons for Boston, averaging 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA expansion draft.
The Celtics also took shooting guard Freeman Williams out of Portland State with the eighth overall pick of the draft.
Williams was immediately dealt with Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington, and Sidney Wicks to the (then) San Diego (now, Los Angeles) Clippers for Tiny Archibald, Marvin Barnes, Billy Knight, and draft assets.
They also drafted a player you may have heard of — forward Larry Bird.
Bird was taken with the sixth pick of the draft despite still being enrolled in Indiana State University, exploiting a since-closed loophole in the Collective Bargaining Agreement to do it.
He finished his final season at Indiana State before joining Boston for his Hall-of-Fame career that included three titles, 12 All-Star nods, 10 All-NBA teams, three Most Valuable Player Awards, and many other honors.
The 1981 NBA draft also fell on this date, with the Celtics again taking three noteworthy players.
The first was shooting guard Charles Bradley, a Wyoming standout, taken with the 23rd pick.
Bradley played two seasons with Boston, averaging 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per contest before being waived in October of 1983.
The Celtics took shooting guard Tracy Jackson out of Notre Dame with the 25th pick.
Jackson played 11 games with Boston before having his contract sold to the Chicago Bulls. In those 11 games, he averaged 2.4 points, 1.1 boards, and 0.5 assists.
The Celtics drafted shooting guard Danny Ainge — formerly of BYU — with the 31st pick.
The move was a gamble since Ainge had already signed with Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays. However, the move paid off big for Boston. Ainge won two titles with the team as a player which laid the groundwork for him to return later in life as an executive and win another in 2008.
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