We are reminded by recent events that was about Jerry Krause but forget perhaps a super important person in the history of knicks in an era when GM's had great powers and were the architects of a team: Eddie Donovan.
I found this excerpt as a reminder:
Eddie was a great basketball guy, had a great feeling for the game," said Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was drafted by Donovan with the Knicks. "He had an affectionate spirit about himself."Donovan was general manager of the Knicks from 1963-70, acquiring Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Cazzie Russell and Jackson.
Donovan also coached the Knicks for four seasons, going 84-194. His .302 winning percentage is the worst of the 18 coaches in Knicks history.
His most famous game came on March 2, 1962, in his first season at the helm. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the Knicks that night in the Philadelphia Warriors' 169-147 win.
Donovan was fired as coach in 1965 but remained as general manager, where he made many of the moves that led to the Knicks titles in 1970 and 1973.
One of the most important one came in December 1968, when Donovan shipped Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives to the Detroit Pistons for DeBusschere.
"It was the trade that made the New York Knicks what they were," Jackson said Sunday after the Lakers' 103-92 loss to Miami.
Donovan left the Knicks for the expansion Buffalo Braves in March 1970, two months before Reed and Frazier led the Knicks past Chamberlain and the Lakers for their first championship.
Donovan returned to the Knicks as general manager in 1975 with less success and was bumped upstairs in 1982.
"He was a wonderfully friendly fellow, a man who really loved basketball," said Jackson, who last talked to Donovan about a year ago.
Funny that a failed coach becomes the architect of the greatest knick team/era ever.
I recall when he came back in 1975 in that Sonny Werblin (1978 and beyond) which became a big starphuch era that proved futile.
The owners were Gulf and Western and they bumbled the DR J offering from the nets. Its a stark reminder that ownership DID and DOES affect how a team is run and those PhuchNuts had to account for profits NOW then see that DR J in NYC could be incredible! And how they never got Kareem here was criminal as well.
Eddie had a hard task. He left the team no doubt seduced by the Braves for a nice payday and then came back to try it again.
Not everything worked. Reed was never a good coach and Red's second stint in the cocaine era was worse.
Besides Kareem and Dr. J Starphuch regrets, Imagine how good Michael Ray Richardson was and if he did not get gripped by the White powder.
The anatomy sample of how knicks go the 4th overall pick in 1978:
October 24, 1976: Traded by the Houston Rockets (as a future 1978 1st round draft pick) with a 1977 1st round draft pick (Wesley Cox was later selected) to the Buffalo Braves for Moses Malone.September 1, 1977: Traded by the Buffalo Braves (as a future 1978 1st round draft pick) with George Johnson and a 1979 1st round draft pick (Cliff Robinson was later selected) to the New Jersey Nets for Tiny Archibald.
June 8, 1978: Traded by the New Jersey Nets (as a future 1978 1st round draft pick) with a 1979 1st round draft pick (Vinnie Johnson was later selected) to the New York Knicks for Phil Jackson and a 1978 1st round draft pick (Winford Boynes was later selected).
June 9, 1978: Drafted by the New York Knicks in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1978 NBA Draft.
Eddie Donovan RIP, the dude that made traded For Debusschure. But the cost was high, Bellamy was an allstar center in the era of great centers and is in the HOF. Komives never really lived up to his college scoring acumen in the NBA but was a decent player.
If you really want to make a study of it how that team came together its a worthy journey.
Willis Reed was a second round pick. Less teams then, he was the 10th pick! He was a high flying 4. Think Randle with the hops of Mydyess. Rookie of the year.
Cazzie Russell was 1st overall pick in the league. He was "the next elgin Baylor". But he had knee issues and ego issues. They drafted Bill Bradley prior but when he came back from two year stint at oxford he was afforded opportunities many players did not get. Racial tensions in america ran high it affected the team.
Clyde coming into his own took over for Komives.
more digressed Nalodian Word Salad tidbits:
May 11, 1966: Drafted by the New York Knicks in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1966 NBA Draft.May 7, 1971: Traded by the New York Knicks to the San Francisco Warriors for Jerry Lucas.
September 6, 1974: Signed as a veteran free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers; the Golden State Warriors received a 1976 1st round draft pick (Robert Parish was later selected) as compensation.
October 17, 1977: Waived by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Intresting how Cazzie became the pick for Parish. Warriors 4 years later traded their pick in 1980, 3rd pick with Robert Parish to move up to get Joe Barry Carroll as the overall no. 1 pick owned by the celtics. Joe Barry "Who" you ask. Yeah, big **** up! So Auerbach does it again and turns the pick into a staring 5, HOF, and the eras best power forward.
2nd pick was Darrell Griffith, was to be the second coming of David Thompson. This was pre Jordan mind you.
How did the Celtics get that pick?
a 1 2 3 On June 9, 1980, the Golden State Warriors acquired the first and the thirteenth pick from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Robert Parish and the third pick.[23][24] Previously, the Celtics acquired two first-round picks on September 6, 1979, from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Bob McAdoo. This trade was arranged as compensation when the Celtics signed M. L. Carr on July 24, 1979.[25][26] Previously, the Pistons acquired 1980 and 1982 first-round picks on July 12, 1979, from the Washington Bullets as compensation for the signing of Kevin Porter as a free agent.[27] The Warriors used the picks to draft Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown. The Celtics used the pick to draft Kevin McHale.
Different era but when we start throwing around draft picks like couch change to satisfy a short term need just keep the long term ramifications of draft picks. Rules are much different now and some teams really damaged themselves. The Septian rule was adapted to help teams from becoming idiots. Remember, owners were wealthy then but owning a team was a hobby not good business. The TV money had yet to come into play. This is pre "Bird/Magic" era and NBA was not doing great. Players were high and a recession was in force.
Bit of Celtic lore regarding ownership and Red Auerbach almost becoming a knick:
The following year, Brown traded franchises with Boston Celtics owner Irv Levin.[32] The move allowed Levin to move his franchise to his home state of California, while giving Brown ownership of one of the league's most storied franchises.[32] Two weeks before the swap of franchises was made official, details of a six-player trade between the two were reported.[33] Boston sent Freeman Williams, Kevin Kunnert, and Kermit Washington to the Braves for "Tiny" Archibald, Billy Knight, and Marvin Barnes.[33] The move turned Boston fans against Brown, both because Kunnert and Washington were seen as key pieces of the team's future and because team president and legendary former coach Red Auerbach publicly stated that he was not consulted about the trade.[33] The relationship between Brown and Auerbach worsened with Brown's decision to trade three first-round draft picks that Auerbach had planned to use to rebuild the franchise for Bob McAdoo.
Again, Brown made the trade without consulting Auerbach.[34] Auerbach almost left Boston to take a job with the New York Knicks as a result. Brown eventually sold his interest in the team to co-owner Harry Mangurian in 1979.[29][35]
Seems all to random than saying "Auerbach is a genius".....Perhaps part of that might be accurate.
1/17/2024 7:57 AM