The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 270 - 12 Return

As the sun’s strength gradually waned, time slowly transitioned from summer to autumn, and the long off-season was about to end.

For those players who didn’t make the playoffs, from April to October, they had nearly half a year to rest well, adjust their physical condition, and prepare for the grueling NBA season.

Of course, not everyone could stay and continue the battle in the NBA. Every year, there were players who left and new ones who joined, some changed their jerseys, and some teams took on a new look.

Dan Issel of the Nuggets team and Bolts of the Jazz retired from the league; both had been ABA All-Stars and continued to shine in the NBA.

Issel, as a key substitute for the Nuggets, helped Doug Moe achieve the best record in Nuggets history, but unfortunately, they were eliminated by the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals and couldn’t advance further.

Bolts played an important role in every team he went to, and this year when the Jazz faced the Rockets, in the key fifth game, with Mark-Eaton injured, Bolts stepped up and excellently completed the defensive task.

He drove the young Olajuwon mad with various defensive skills and experience; Olajuwon gave Bolts a punch, which, though missed by the officials, resulted in a $5,000 fine after the game.

Olajuwon’s poor mentality was a sign of the Rockets’ overall collapse; leading 76:67 at the start of the fourth quarter, they were overtaken by the Jazz in a major upset and eliminated.

Bolts’ punch was worth it, and then he decided to retire in the summer, perhaps realizing he could no longer stay in the league, especially in the West.

One Rocket, one Trail Blazer, meeting ten times in one season, to continue this way, let alone playing, people would be beaten to nothing.

Jabbar, who had been expected to retire, rekindled his spirit with his Finals MVP and signed a new contract with the Lakers to continue the fight.

In addition to the veterans who retired, there were also fringe NBA players who lost their jobs and sought a livelihood overseas, their positions to be filled by the league’s newcomers.

In the 1985 draft, Ewing’s destination was no surprise, the Pacers got Wayman Tisdale from the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, hoping he could be the savior of the team.

The Clippers selected Benoit Benjamin—they seemed to be wasting another high pick, despite his obvious talent, 7 feet tall and 250 pounds with long arms and broad shoulders, but his attitude towards the game was always questioned.

The Supersonics chose Xavier McDaniel, and the Golden State Warriors snapped up Chris Mullin at the seventh pick, leaving the Hawks and Kings wondering what they were thinking. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Both were still superstitious about height, choosing 7-foot Jon Koncak and 6-foot-11 Joe Kleine—height and the 1984 Olympics led some managers to close their eyes and not use their brains in selecting players, believing in the role of height and Bob Knight’s vision.

But international competition and the NBA are completely different.

The Mavericks selected Schlamf, and Cleveland picked Charles Oakley but soon traded him to Chicago.

The Utah Jazz got Karl Malone at the 13th pick, and the robust forward from Louisiana was completely baffled, crying to his mother over the phone after the draft.

He was lucky to end up on the same team as Stockton, but unfortunately Stockton’s best friend was Ah Gan, which meant that almost all of Malone’s embarrassing moments were known to Gan Guoyang.

It was the beginning of 20 years of nightmare.

The Detroit Pistons snagged Joe Dumars, the unremarkable guard from a small school, who became an important piece in Chuck Daly’s rebuild of the Pistons’ system.

The Los Angeles Lakers chose A.C. Green, further solidifying their power forward position to deal with the massive threat from the Northwest.

There were some highlights in the second, third, and even fourth rounds of the draft.

The Washington Bullets chose Manute Bol in the second round to compensate for Charles Barkley’s lack of height.

The Hawks picked Sabonis in the third round, but his pick was quickly declared invalid because Sabonis did not meet the age requirement for international players.

The Pistons chose the 5-foot-7 "Little Potato" Webb in the fourth round. The Pistons quickly gave up on him, but in September, Webb was signed by the Hawks after a tryout.

The Portland Trail Blazers had the 24th pick at the tail end of the first round, where Stu-Inman plucked Terry Porter, a guard he had been observing for a long time.

In the second round, Inman took Canadian center Mike Smrek and then traded him to the Chicago Bulls for Ben Coleman and Ken Johnson, two nondescripts.

The Trail Blazers had unprecedented success in the 84-85 season, thanks mainly to Gan Guoyang’s stunning performance, although Inman did some backfiring.

His move to trade away three starters for Vandeweghe weakened the Trail Blazers. Larry Weinberg was in fact dissatisfied, because if Leaf and others had stayed, they might have been able to get past the Lakers.

Mid-season, he wanted to trade Cheche but was stopped by Gan Guoyang. In short, he felt like he was in a no-win situation. However, his eye for bargains was still there.

After acquiring Porter, who was not highly regarded by other teams, Yin Man made a minor trade, sending Drexler’s "backup" Bernard-Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks for a second-round pick in the ’87 draft.

Drexler’s performance last season proved he didn’t need a backup; he would be the answer for the Trail Blazers’ backcourt.

The 12th man, Tom-Scheffler, was waived. Last season, the lack of a good backup center was one of the biggest criticisms of Yin Man.

Gan played too many games for too long, and although he didn’t mind, Larry Weinberg thought this was wearing down his most valuable asset.

So, Yin Man actively sought a trade, looked around, signed free agent Caldwell Jones, and sent the Mavericks’ ’87 second-round pick to the Bulls as compensation. (According to NBA regulations at the time, signing another team’s free agents required compensation, be it draft picks, cash, or other players—the players couldn’t leave without leaving something behind.)

Jones’s arrival didn’t satisfy the owner or the Portland fans, as he could at best be a second or third backup for the interior line. He was totally outplayed by Gan when he was with the Bulls.

Though he was once a First Team All-Defense player, now he was too thin, too old. How could he, nearly 35, hold down the three-second area when Gan wasn’t on the court?

The neighbors, the Los Angeles Lakers, chose AC Green and acquired former Trail Blazers champion "Law Enforcer" Morris Lucas through a trade.

That was a typical Lakers maneuver, using championships and the California sunshine as bait to attract aging stars or veterans, continuing to bolster the already overflowing talent at the Great Western Forum.

Jerry West also waived Jamaal Wilkes, whose "silk" was no longer smooth, as the Lakers now had a more polished "cobra."

In comparison, the Trail Blazers really lacked appeal, even though Ah Gan had achieved great success, but who could guarantee they would keep moving forward next season?

There are too many shooting stars in NBA history that have flashed and then disappeared, and the Trail Blazers themselves are one of them.

Finally, in September, Yin Man made his last assist for the growth of the Portland Trail Blazers: he sacrificed himself to facilitate Bill Walton’s return.

He was fired by Larry Weinberg, and left the position of general manager of the Trail Blazers, left Portland, clearing the last obstacle for Walton’s return.

After all, Yin Man was directly responsible for the series of foolish decisions regarding Walton, and he had to carry that burden.

In exchange, Walton gave up most of the salary owed to him by the Clippers, and the Trail Blazers sent Valentine to Los Angeles in return.

This was a risky decision; Valentine’s poor performance against Magic Johnson in the Western Finals was the direct reason the Trail Blazers let him go.

And the outstanding performance of Steve Colter, as well as the trust in Terry Porter, meant the Trail Blazers dared to keep only two young point guards.

After all, in Jack Ramsay’s system, point guards simply needed to be young and daring; they didn’t have to be veterans.

Walton’s return rocked the NBA and reignited excitement among Portland people. When the plane carrying Walton arrived in Portland, thousands of fans came to the airport to welcome the city’s basketball hero.

Before boarding the plane, Walton was so nervous he nearly wanted to give up on the spot, but the comfort from Wu Deng calmed him. He told Walton to take praise and criticism in stride.

Angels and demons are just a thought away. This was a journey home that was both touching and dangerous. He needed to be fully prepared for an outcome that could be worse than before or perhaps perfect.

When Walton finally arrived, he was moved to tears. He and the team trainer Kapoor, who greeted him at the airport and used to be his closest friend, cried together. They had once faced each other across the courtroom over injury issues.

Bill Schonely, new manager Buckwalter, vice-president Harry Glickman, Spoelstra, and owner Larry Weinberg were among those who came to welcome him at the airport.

The team’s former physician, Cook, who the Trail Blazers had let go, and the departing Stu-Inman, were not there. Weinberg wrote a letter of recommendation for Inman, which would allow him to work at any other NBA team.

Jack Ramsey led the young players at Portland Community College’s gymnasium waiting for Walton, but Walton’s first order of business upon landing was to go to the hospital for a checkup to see if he met the health standards for signing a contract.

Then, the doctors’ examination results were not optimistic; the x-rays suggested that Walton might need a disability certificate rather than an NBA contract.

However, Ramsay quickly arrived at the medical center and dragged Walton out of the examination room, saying, "As long as he’s back in Portland, he can play. It’s not something a few x-rays can decide!"

So, Bill Walton signed with the Trail Blazers and rejoined the team, becoming part of the roster for the 1985-1986 season.