Kareem was almost traded in 1982.

[JordansBulls]

as a bucks fan it sucks. he wanted out of milwaukee - to a bigger and better team/market...we got some solid players in return but for a player like him you will never get full value in return.

it's like if the cavs were to trade lebron..for example the mavs could offer dirk and josh howard with 1st round picks for a couple of years. sure the cavs would get lots of good value in return but it would never replace lebron and what he could do...same thing here with kareem...if that mad any sense at all...lol

See I never understood why these franchise guys always demand out within 5 years or so. Kareem did it and Shaq as well.

Guys should take pride in building a team and winning with a franchise that hadn't accomplished anything in it's career vs going to a franchise that is known for winning constantly. That to me means more than anything.

[Kyle N.]

See I never understood why these franchise guys always demand out within 5 years or so. Kareem did it and Shaq as well.

Guys should take pride in building a team and winning with a franchise that hadn't accomplished anything in it's career vs going to a franchise that is known for winning constantly. That to me means more than anything.

I agree 100% but hey that's life. Though maybe we would do the same if we were in that situation. You never know.

[JordansBulls]

I agree 100% but hey that's life. Though maybe we would do the same if we were in that situation. You never know.

Hopefully some guys in the league today stay with their teams and turn them
into contenders.

[JordansBulls]

Looking at the Knicks franchise, they have only had a handful of great players.

Ewing, Frazier, Reed and then King for a little bit.

[bagwell368]

I'm trying to figure out why you would trade a guy who had won 6 MVP's at the time and 2 titles.

Because he was in his 12th year in the league, and while he played 8 more years none of them matched any of the first 12. The last two in particular were junk. And only 4 of them were good, and a student of league history back them would have predicted two more good seasons, and 2-3 crappers. So basically he elite days were past.

[KnicksorBust]

Because he was in his 12th year in the league, and while he played 8 more years none of them matched any of the first 12. The last two in particular were junk. And only 4 of them were good, and a student of league history back them would have predicted two more good seasons, and 2-3 crappers. So basically he elite days were past.

I disagree with that completely. First, he won more rings in those last 8 years than in those first 12. Second, his stats were only down because his minutes were down. His per 36 minutes were definately comparable in a handful of those seasons as evidenced by his 4 more all-nba team honors. Finally, he still was bringing it the playoffs, including the 1985 season which would rank among the top 3-4 best of his career.

[bagwell368]

I disagree with that completely. First, he won more rings in those last 8 years than in those first 12. Second, his stats were only down because his minutes were down. His per 36 minutes were definately comparable in a handful of those seasons as evidenced by his 4 more all-nba team honors. Finally, he still was bringing it the playoffs, including the 1985 season which would rank among the top 3-4 best of his career.

It's a team sport. You think if he had Nixon, Magic, Wilkes, etc. 8 years earlier those teams wouldn't have won almost every title?

His minutes were down because he was getting old. He had a lot of breathing problems, and stamina problems. Per 36 minutes? Who cares, if he could have played more he would have.

All NBA team honors are like lifetime achievement awards for the greats, and if I have to point it out - the number of elite centers in his time was weaker then before, or what came towards the end of his time - so naming jabbar was no big thrill in quite a few of those years.

'84-'85 Lakers? That's probably one of the 10 greatest teams of all time. BTW, Magic and Worthy had better playoffs then Jabbar. Isn't it easier to do better when you have a strong team around you? BTW, what happened to Jabbar, during those years they lost to the very inferior Houston teams? Oh yes, Jabbar was dominated by Malone.

Also, I didn't quite get out what I was saying the right way. The thought was that he was fading, so it was a good time to deal him. He did much better then they could have suspected, but he still did well less then you maintain. I saw him from the first year on the Bucks to the finals years when he really sucked, and a lot in between. Great player - just explaining why they thought of dealing him, and why it could make sense at the time. It's easy in hindsight to say no.

[JordansBulls]

Because he was in his 12th year in the league, and while he played 8 more years none of them matched any of the first 12. The last two in particular were junk. And only 4 of them were good, and a student of league history back them would have predicted two more good seasons, and 2-3 crappers. So basically he elite days were past.

I understand that, but he was still a top 3-4 player in the league.

[bagwell368]

I understand that, but he was still a top 3-4 player in the league.

I didn't explain it right. I'm saying that it would have been the wrong thing to do. But think about the thought process - going over the logic/actuarial tables of big men over the prior 20 years would have led them to conclude he might be close to being done. The fact that he was the longest lived of the elite players, they couldn't have banked on.

Now he wasn't as good, but, still a vital cog in Magic's teams. He was very much subject to domination by Malone, and troubles running the break very long against tough teams like the Celts. But on average throwing out the last 3-4 years, he must have still been the best 2-3 Centers - he always nailed Parrish for instance - except for Parrish's 2-3 fast break buckets per night.

[JordansBulls]

I wonder how much Kareem would have won after 1982 had he left Magic? Where could he have gone to equal similar succes?

[JordansBulls]

So if they thought about trading Kareem in 1982, imagine had both Kareem and Magic started playing together when both were in their primes?

[Hangtime]

So they were basically trading a 12 year vet in Kareem with a younger prospect in Ralph Sampson....Correct? Obviously in hindsight this is a bad idea but I can understand why they were considering this at the time.

[Bruno87]

From 1982

Imagine the Lakers trading Kareem during the playoffs! :eek: This was broadcast during halftime of Game 4 of the ECF (Sixers/Celtics) that year.

When was the trade deadline enacted? Players could have been traded in the middle of the playoffs back then?

[Bruno87]

I wonder how much Kareem would have won after 1982 had he left Magic? Where could he have gone to equal similar succes?

NYK? King and KAJ?
Detroit with Isiah?

Good question.

[JordansBulls]

When was the trade deadline enacted? Players could have been traded in the middle of the playoffs back then?

I guess so, just like now you can still trade players after June 1st I believe.