Sampson to declare for the draft
By Michael Wilbon
May 15, 1982
Ralph Sampson surprised almost everyone by opting to declare for the 1982 NBA Draft when all sources pointed that the most likely decision for Sampson to make was that he would be staying at Virginia for another season.
The reason why it was seen as unlikely that Sampson would declare for the draft was that he would only declare if there was a guarantee that the Los Angeles Lakers would be the team to draft him.
Unless Los Angeles can make a deal for San Diego's pick--which would guarantee the Lakers the right to draft Sampson--sources did say that the 7-foot-4 center would remain at Virginia for his fourth and final year. A 50-50 chance of playing with the Lakers would have not been enough to make Sampson leave, the sources said.
But Sampson’s decision might be motivated by regrets that he might have in not declaring the 1980 NBA Draft when Red Auerbach tried to get him to declare for the 1980 NBA Draft when the Boston Celtics had the 1st pick Sampson opted to stay at Virginia and Boston had to make do with the McHale/Cooper trade which has worked out well for the Celtics so far.
The Lakers do need a center to replace Bob Lanier who is nearing the end of his career and the Lakers plan to have Lanier mentor Sampson while he finds his feet if he is drafted by them.
San Diego are a rebuilding team under their new owner Donald Sterling and looking for someone to build their franchise around preferably a big man as they have Rolando Blackman their 1981 draft choice as one piece of the Clippers puzzle already there.
Attempts by the Lakers to guarantee San Diego’s pick are only heightening up with Sampson’s decision to declare for the draft.
"Los Angeles has made us a wonderful offer and we know that would be a wonderful place for him to play," San Diego General Manager Ted Podleski said yesterday. "But we feel that San Diego is not a bad consolation. We've got something cooking here. We've got a pretty good young team that we'd like to improve.
"If they (Los Angeles) make us an offer that would improve our team substantially, then we would make the deal," Podleski said. "It's a day-by-day, hour-by-hour situation."
Laker General Manager Bill Sharman told the Los Angeles Times he was not optimistic about securing San Diego's pick. "They don't feel what we've offered is good enough," said Sharman. "It doesn't look like we're going to get anything accomplished. All the reports we get are that he's not coming out unless he comes to the Lakers. If that's the case, they (the Clippers) are turning down an awful lot."
Sharman did not reveal the specifics of the Los Angeles offer, but did say it involved "a lot of money, draft picks and other considerations."
San Diego owner Donald T. Sterling said yesterday he was offered the $6 million by Laker owner Jerry Buss at a party in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night. Sterling reportedly said he would accept $10 million plus a player, but Buss balked at including a player.
Sampson turned down approximately $400,000 per year from the Boston Celtics after his freshman year, $800,000 a year from Dallas and Detroit after his sophomore year, and could make $1.5 million this year from Los Angeles or San Diego.
Sampson's bargaining power could be drastically reduced next year if the first team drafting is one of the NBA's poorer franchises and could not afford to offer Sampson $1 million per year.
When asked if San Diego, which had the second-worst record in the league this year, could afford Sampson, Podleski said, "Whomever we draft, we'll sign, no matter what."
Seven underclassmen have already decided to forgo their final year of amateur eligibility to enter the NBA draft: Quintin Dailey of San Francisco, Terry Cummings of De Paul, Dominique Wilkins of Georgia, Cliff Levingston of Wichita State, John Bagley of Boston College, LaSalle Thompson of Texas and Rob Williams of Houston.
North Carolina's James Worthy, who is expected to be the No. 1 choice overall if Sampson remains at Virginia, will probably announce today that he is leaving school for the NBA. Clark Kellogg of Ohio State also is expected to announce in favor of the draft
The coin flip to determine whether Los Angeles or San Diego selects first takes place May 20
The 1982 NBA Draft took place on the 29th June of that year and the Lakers would have the 1st pick thanks to that trade with Cleveland which would become a trend for the Cavs as they had already traded 4 consecutive 1st round picks to Dallas so they had a great chance at building a contender. But as for the Lakers they tried to get Ralph Sampson to leave Virginia early and declare for the 1982 NBA Draft which with him realising that he could contend for an NBA title in his first season playing alongside Magic Johnson he would accept as he felt that he could help the Lakers to win an NBA championship. As for the rest of the draft the Clippers would take North Carolina forward James Worthy, the Jazz would take Terry Cummings third as he could play both forward positions. At the 4th pick Dallas would take Dominique Wilkins who had only fallen this far due to him not wanting to play the Clippers or Jazz and Sleepy Floyd would be selected by Golden State and spend the bulk of his career there.
MALONE GOES TO SPURS FOR DAVE CORZINE
The San Antonio Spurs today acquired Moses Malone, the National Basketball Association's most valuable player last season, in a trade with the Phoenix Suns for the veteran center Dave Corzine and San Antonio's No. 1 selection in next year's draft.
On Sept. 2 the Spurs signed Malone to an offer sheet that reportedly would pay him a minimum of $11.8 million for six years and in excess of $15 million if several bonus clauses materialized. The Suns, under the league rule regarding free agency, had 15 days from Sept. 2 to match that offer, or lose Malone to the Spurs.
However, on Sept. 8, the league called several provisions of the Spurs offer illegal. Today, the league said from its New York office that the three most-disputed provisions had been dropped ''by mutual consent of all parties involved,'' and thus Commissioner Larry O'Brien had approved the trade.
Under the new contract, Malone, the 28-year-old center who has been the league's m.v.p. twice, still stands to make a minimum of $11.2 million. He will make an additional $100,000 in each of the next six seasons that the Spurs have a home playoff game, and another $100,000 a season if he averages 30 minutes a game, which he has done throughout his career.
Those clauses would bring the value of the contract to $12.4 million. Should Malone play in the maximum home playoff games over the next six years, the figure could rise to $13 million. He could make even more in a clause tied to his 5 percent share of the team's gross receipts after $4 million and 10 percent after $6 million.
''I don't think anyone knew what I was worth until San Antonio spoke up,'' Malone said tonight after a hurriedly called news conference in San Antonio. The trade was announced jointly in San Antonio and Phoenix.
Malone commented: ''No one in Phoenix recognized how much I did.'' After the challenge to the San Antonio offer, a hearing on the validity of the contract and offer sheet was held Monday in New York under Kingman Brewster, the former president of Yale.
Angelo Drossos, owner of the Spurs, said: ''Neither party, I thought, felt victory or defeat after the Brewster ruling. It was a nothing ruling. It didn't mean anything.''
According to the league statement today, though, certain provisions will be struck from the contract: ''The three provisions which will be deleted involve an annual bonus if San Antonio is not among the top six teams in the N.B.A. in road attendance, a bonus if San Antonio's home gate revenues are less than $3 million and a bonus if San Antonio does not have a statistical leader other than Malone in any year.''
The league did allow provisions for $100,000 a year in guaranteed endorsements and the percentage of gross receipts above $4 million. D
rossos said that he and his attorney, Laurence Shaiman, met twice on Sunday with lawyers for Karl Eller, the Suns owner, and Thomas, and were ''not close'' to a resolution. On Monday, while the N.B.A. arbitration was held, representatives of both clubs talked again and, said Drossos, ''there was no deal.''
Tuesday, Drossos was in Atlanta, and at his request Shaiman called representatives of Eller to see if there would be any reason to fly to Phoenix and talk further about a possible deal. ''They said yes,'' Katz said.
Meanwhile, Malone was en route to San Antonio, where he was to undergo a physical examination as part of San Antonio's tentative offer. He was booked on a flight from here back to Phoenix in midafternoon, but his plans were changed.
''Late this afternoon,'' Drossos said, ''we got the word agreeing, and it was go for the deal and no-go for Moses going back to San Antonio.''
After the draft came free agency and the big question was where would Moses Malone go to as the first thought destination the Lakers had just taken Ralph Sampson who was to be their new franchise center he had to think of another option the team that actually came to get him was a surprising one in the San Antonio Spurs who did have to give up Dave Corzine and a 1983 1st round draft pick to get him from Phoenix but they did get him as the guy to put a team consisting of George Gervin, Mike Mitchell and Johnny Moore over the top and to win an NBA championship.
Due to that one move the Spurs would be the 1 seed in the Western Conference winning 58 games with the Lakers bolstered with the arrival of Sampson would win 57 games and be right behind them in the West and just behind them would be the Houston Rockets on 55 wins with Calvin Murphy in his final season while the Stars would once again be the 4th seed with 50 wins and destined to be 1st round exits were the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Whilst in the East it was still the Celtics and Nets but the Celtics did appear vulnerable as the chemistry was slightly off and Bill Fitch was starting to lose the team but they would still win 61 games while the Nets would win 58 games as it was becoming more apparent to that the era of Erving and Abdul Jabbar was in it’s autumn. The Bucks would once again get the 2 seed with 46 wins after winning the Central Division and in a surprise the New York Knicks would win 45 games as Bernard King was firmly back as one of the best players in the league. In the 5th and 6th seeds would be the Kentucky Colonels on 42 wins and the Washington Bullets on 41 wins.
In the West the Warriors would be eliminated by the Rockets in 2 games and the Blazers would upset the Stars in a 3 game series with Andrew Toney just going off in the series to cause the upset. Portland’s run would be ended in the second round by the Spurs who would win 5 games led by Moses Malone fresh off his 3rd MVP Victory while in the other series the Lakers would defeat the Rockets in 5 games which set up a Lakers-Spurs conference finals with this time the Spurs having the upper hand. And the Spurs would take advantage as they would win the series in 6 games with Malone having the upper hand over Sampson being the key factor.
As for the East the playoffs went as they had been for the past 3 years with the Celtics beating the Knicks and the Nets beating the Bullets and Bucks in order to meet in the conference finals in which the Nets would beat the Celtics in 5 games as several Celtics were inferior versions of themselves in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
This would set up an NBA Finals series of the San Antonio Spurs vs the New Jersey Nets in what was the first a rematch of the 1976 NBA Finals. This would be the second finals matchup between Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul Jabbar and in that first matchup Kareem’s experience had win out but this time Malone not only had the physical edge but he also had a lot more big game experience as did the whole roster and they would use that experience to win the 1983 NBA title beating the Nets in 6 game with Malone winning Finals MVP for getting the better of Kareem in the series this not only gave George Gervin an NBA ring but it also confirmed that Kareem’s 13 year reign as the best center in professional basketball was over and there was a new top dog in the NBA.
But that would be as good as it got for Malone and the Spurs as they wouldn’t get this far again but the next 5 years would be a throwback to the 1960s a feud between the two most successful franchises in the NBA became a legendary rivalry for the first time.
Eastern Conference
| | | | | |
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | z-Boston Celtics | 61 | 21 | .744 | – |
2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | 36 | .550 | 15 |
3 | x-New Jersey Nets | 58 | 24 | .707 | 3 |
4 | x-New York Knicks | 45 | 37 | .549 | 16 |
5 | x-Kentucky Colonels | 42 | 40 | .512 | 19 |
6 | x-Washington Bullets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 20 |
| | | | | |
7 | Atlanta Hawks | 38 | 44 | .476 | 23 |
8 | Detroit Pistons | 35 | 47 | .426 | 26 |
9 | Chicago Bulls | 34 | 48 | .413 | 27 |
10 | Philadelphila 76ers | 31 | 51 | .376 | 30 |
11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 39 |
# | Western Conference
| | | | |
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | c-San Antonio Spurs | 58 | 24 | .707 | – |
2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 57 | 25 | .695 | 1 |
3 | x-Houston Rockets | 55 | 27 | .670 | 3 |
4 | x-Utah Stars | 50 | 32 | .585 | 8 |
5 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 15 |
6 | x-Golden State Warriors | 40 | 42 | .488 | 18 |
| | | | | |
7 | Kansas City Kings | 37 | 45 | .451 | 21 |
8 | Dallas Mavericks | 34 | 48 | .414 | 24 |
9 | Seattle Supersonics | 33 | 49 | .401 | 25 |
9 | New Orleans Jazz | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
11 | Denver Nuggets | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 |
12 | San Diego Clippers | 21 | 62 | .256 | 37 |
- Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, San Antonio Spurs
- Rookie of the Year: Terry Cummings, New Orleans Jazz
- Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
- Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jones, Houston Rockets
- Coach of the Year: Stan Albeck, San Antonio Spurs
- All-NBA First Team:
- All-NBA Second Team:
- All-NBA Rookie Team:
- NBA All-Defensive First Team:
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
Eastern Conference All-Stars
Western Conference All Stars
Western Conference
Champion: San Antonio Spurs
Western Conference Quarterfinals
(3) Houston Rockets vs. (6) Golden State Warriors : Rockets win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Houston: Houston 108, Golden State 97
- Game 2 @ Oakland: Houston 105, Golden State 96
(5) Portland Trail Blazers vs (4) Utah Stars : Trail Blazers win series 2-1
- Game 1 @ Utah: Portland 121, Utah 108
- Game 2 @ Portland: Utah 113, Portland 99
- Game 3 @ Utah: Portland 117, Utah 112
Western Conference Semifinals
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers : Spurs win series 4–1
- Game 1 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 142 , Portland 123
- Game 2 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 126, Portland 109
- Game 3 @ Portland: San Antonio 127, Portland 126 (OT)
- Game 4 @ Portland: Portland 124, San Antonio 114
- Game 5 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 133, Portland 103
(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Houston Rockets : Lakers win series 4–1
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Houston 97
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 112, Houston 106
- Game 3 @ Houston: Los Angeles 115, Houston 109 (OT)
- Game 4 @ Houston: Houston 108, Los Angeles 95
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 112, Utah 107
Western Conference Finals
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers : Spurs win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 119, Los Angeles 107
- Game 2 @ San Antonio : Los Angeles 113, San Antonio 103
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles: San Antonio 113, Los Angeles 100
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles: San Antonio 129, Los Angeles 121
- Game 5 @ San Antonio: Los Angeles 117 San Antonio 112
- Game 6 @ Los Angeles: San Antonio 101 Los Angeles 100
Eastern Conference
Champion: New Jersey Nets
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
(3) New Jersey Nets VS. (6) Washington Bullets : Nets win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 103, Washington 95
- Game 2 @ Washington: New Jersey 98, Washington 79
(4) New York Knicks vs. (5) Kentucky Colonels : Knicks win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ New York: New York 118, Kentucky 107
- Game 2 @ Louisville: New York 105, Kentucky 99
Eastern Conference Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Washington Bullets: Celtics win series 4–0
- Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 109, Washington 91
- Game 2 @ Boston : Boston 106, Washington 103
- Game 3 @ Washington : Boston 92, Washington 83
- Game 4 @ Washington : Boston 103, Washington 99
(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs.
(3) New Jersey Nets : Nets win series 4–1
- Game 1 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 125, Milwaukee 122
- Game 2 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 120, Milwaukee 109
- Game 3 @ Milwaukee: Milwaukee 110, New Jersey 98
- Game 4 @ Milwaukee: New Jersey 100, Milwaukee 93
- Game 5 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 102, Milwaukee 90
Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs.
(3) New Jersey Nets : Nets win series 4–0
- Game 1 @ Boston: New Jersey 116, Boston 95
- Game 2 @ Boston: New Jersey 121, Boston 113
- Game 3 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 99, Boston 97
- Game 4 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 109, Boston 94
NBA Finals
(W1) San Antonio Spurs VS. (E3) New Jersey Nets : Spurs win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ San Antonio : San Antonio 113, New Jersey 107
- Game 2 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 103, New Jersey 93
- Game 3 @ New Jersey: New Jersey 111, San Antonio 94
- Game 4 @ New Jersey: San Antonio 115 , New Jersey 108
- Game 5 @ San Antonio: New Jersey 105, San Antonio 92
Game 6 @ New Jersey: San Antonio 114, New Jersey 104