DURING the offseason, NBA teams usually go after players whose contracts with their mother teams had ended and offer them deals that would be idiotic to decline. Unless their present teams match or better the offers dropped on their laps, these athletes most of the time shoot for the stars and get what they want.
With their new teams and fuelled by truckloads of cash, they show renewed energy and put up all-star numbers. Most become instrumental in bringing their team to the promised land of respectability and glory and earn MVP honors along the way.
Golden State is the destination of choice today but long ago in a distant galaxy, players actually wanted to leave and not be a part of the Warriors. Eras apart, two players left the Bay Area and then starred for their adoptive teams.
CAZZIE RUSSELL (LA Lakers, 1974). Drafted by New York in 1969, Russell was part of the 1970 Knicks championship squad. He then played for three seasons with the Warriors but there was disagreement with his contract that he moved to Los Angeles in 1974. Before Magic Johnson, he wore the No. 32 and, in his three seasons with the team, was a solid contributor. He was the second leading scorer behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the 1977 playoffs, his third and last season with the Lakers.
JOHN STARKS (New York, 1990). Golden State signed him in 1988 as an undrafted free agent. Because the team had another rookie named Mitch Richmond, Starks was released after 39 games and for two years toiled in the minor leagues. The Knicks came to the rescue, and Starks and Patrick Ewing became the dynamic duo that brought the team to 1994 NBA Finals, but they lost to the Houston Rockets in an epic seven-game battle. Starks is best remembered posterizing Michael Jordan.
DENNIS RODMAN (Chicago Bulls, 1995). San Antonio does not want to solve a problem like Rodman and the Bulls took their chances. Coach Phil Jackson called the signing as a “risk-reward” thing and, in his three seasons with Chicago, The Worm wiggled his way to three league-rebounding titles to match with the Bulls’ three successive championships.
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL (LA Lakers, 1996). Shaq was a dominating player in Orlando but he was caught in a power struggle with coach Brian Hill and resident superstar Penny Hardaway that, for $121 million covering seven years, he took his talents to Hollywood. Together with Kobe Bryant, they formed one of the most lethal combo the league had ever seen and had three straight championships from 2000 to 2002. He was the Finals MVP in those three championships.
TIM DUNCAN (San Antonio, 2000). In 1999, together with David Robinson, Duncan won the Spurs’ first NBA title and his first, beating New York in five games. The following year, a heated bidding war for his services happened but he opted to stay put and for 16 seasons more, helped San Antonio to four more league titles. Duncan was league MVP twice and Finals MVP four times.
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Detroit, 2002). Picked third overall by Boston in 1997, Billups drifted to four other teams until he found permanent residence in Detroit. In his six seasons with the Pistons, he captained the team and led them to six Conference Finals. Averaging 21 points, five assists and a steal, he helped the Pistons to the 2004 league championship, beating the Lakers and was named the Finals MVP.
ROBERT HORRY (San Antonio, 2003). In a salary dump, the LA Lakers dealt Horry to the Spurs, bringing with him championship vibes. Already owning five title rings (Houston, back-to-back 1994 and 1995, and LA Lakers, three-peat 2000-2002), Big Shot Bob added two more rings to his collection with San Antonio in 2005 and 2007.
Moving on to the recent migrations, two of the league’s biggest names took their talents elsewhere for ridiculously big dollars. LeBron James hopscotched from Cleveland to Miami to Cleveland where he helped the two teams to a combined three league titles. And now he’s with the LA Lakers.
Unlike the previous eras, Kevin Durant had made Golden State the destination of choice that players would opt for less money for the chance to be on the Warrior roster. In his two seasons with the team, KD had given the franchise two league titles and from the looks of it, we are in for at least two more seasons of Warrior domination – unless, of course, someone who’s now in LA has an answer to the Bay Area puzzle./PN
