Rich 76ers and Celtics Get Richer in Lottery

By the time five of the seven sealed envelopes were opened and it became certain that either Philadelphia or Boston would be the big winner in Sunday’s NBA draft lottery, Celtic President Red Auerbach had nervously puffed on his cigar so often that a dense cloud of smoke hovered over the stage.

Sitting next to Auerbach during the nationally televised drawing to determine the top seven picks in next month’s draft was 76er General Manager Pat Williams, who anxiously awaited the lottery’s outcome for the health of both his team and himself.

When David Stern, NBA commissioner, finally opened the second-to-last envelope, which contained the Celtics’ team logo, Williams briefly punched his fist through the smoke cloud in celebration of the 76ers’ good fortune at receiving the first overall pick.

Or was he just clearing the stale air?

“It was an exciting experience that I’ll never forget,” Williams said. “But my biggest relief is getting away from Red Auerbach’s cigar. I’m going to have to take this suit to the cleaners to get that noxious smoke out. I was choking up there on the stage.”

Actually, it was the NBA’s 21 other teams--especially the Clippers and Seattle SuperSonics--who probably were choking back the maddening thought that Philadelphia and Boston will undoubtedly improve already dominating teams with the first and second overall choices.

Biggest loser of all Sunday had to be the Clippers, who originally owned the draft pick Philadelphia used to receive the first overall pick. The Clippers, who again missed the playoffs with a 32-50 record, would have been a lottery participant had the club not traded its pick to the 76ers for forward Joe (Jellybean) Bryant before the 1979-80 season.

Boston participated in the lottery after trading guard Gerald Henderson to Seattle for the SuperSonics’ 1986 first-round pick before the 1984-85 season.

So, two of the NBA’s Haves once again have taken from the Have-Nots in the draft, which theoretically is supposed to bring a semblance of parity to the league.

Instead, Philadelphia will have its choice of 7-foot Brad Daugherty of North Carolina, 6-11 Chris Washburn of North Carolina State, 7-foot William Bedford of Memphis State or any other top college player the 76ers deem worthy of the first pick. And Boston, which covets Daugherty even more than Philadelphia does, will get second choice.

Is it fair?

“I think it’s very fair,” Auerbach said afterward. “After all, we had to give up a player to get that pick, and so did Philly. Gerald Henderson is a fine player. But there are a lot of fine 6-2 players.”

After joking about Auerbach’s cigar, one of the first comments Williams made in an informal after-lottery press conference regarded the forward thinking of the 76er franchise in dealing Bryant for the Clippers’ 1986 first-round pick seven years ago.

“I guess the Clippers felt seven years would never come,” Williams said. “Joe Bryant, where are you now? You know, it wasn’t like we sifted through lots of offers for Joe Bryant. We didn’t think much of the trade at the time.

“I remember, back in ‘79, the Clippers were in San Diego and they were in need of forwards. The year before (1978) we traded (World B., then Lloyd) Free to them for the ’84 (first-round) pick. We used that for Charles Barkley. I hope and think we will get another player that can help us as much as Charles.”

Williams created his own smoke cloud when asked which player the 76ers will select, but he did confirm it will be either a center or power forward or someone who can play both.

Both Williams and Auerbach are high on Daugherty, who has been described as a Kevin McHale-type power forward.

“At this point, we have to be thinking big,” Williams said. “But we also are going to have to spend time looking at other players and figuring out how valuable that pick will be if other teams want to trade. “The one thing I said before the lottery and I still believe it now is that every team here will get a very good player. There may not be that much of a difference between the third and eighth picks.”

Following Philadelphia and Boston, the order of selection in the June 17 draft will be Golden State, Indiana, New York, Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland. The Cavaliers bought their way into the lottery after trading their first-round pick to Dallas in 1980. As part of an agreement when the Cavaliers changed ownership, the club can buy a pick for a reported $750,000 and its choice would come after Dallas’.

Stern, who once again hosted the lottery and manufactured plenty of low drama by calculatedly opening the envelopes, said the league strives for parity but he saw nothing wrong with having Philadelphia and Boston receive the first two spots in the draft.

“I guess that shows you should just be more careful who you deal your first-round draft choice to,” Stern said. “Suggestions to restrict or approve trading of first-round picks are usually resisted by the lower echelon teams who end up trading them.

“There had been a proposal among the board of governors last month that if you were in the lottery with somebody else’s pick, you could not finish better than fourth in the lottery. But that wasn’t voted through. Next year’s lottery will be the same, except that the teams with the two worst records cannot finish worse than fourth and fifth.”

That rule was adopted after last year’s inaugural lottery in which Golden State received the seventh choice even though the Warriors tied Indiana for the worst record in the league. Before the lottery’s implementation, the teams with the worst records in each conference would flip a coin for the No. 1 pick.

Al Attles, Golden State’s general manager, angrily left the stage after last season’s lottery. This time, though, Attles was happy with the third overall pick.

“If I had gotten the seventh pick again, I probably wouldn’t be able to get back into the Bay Area,” Attles said, jokingly. “I was pleased to get third, but I’m not so pleased that Philly and Boston will be getting stronger.”

Williams said Auerbach was talking to him throughout the five-minute proceedings, tempting him with trade possibilities. The entire scene struck Williams as funny.

“I found it really bizarre,” Williams said. “Today, the Celtic-76er rivalry heated up off the court as well as on it. It’s unbelievable that we would end up knocking heads again for the first pick at the lottery. At least, we can say we beat Boston at something this season.”

That will be the only chance Philadelphia will have to beat Boston at anything until next season. An hour after the lottery ended, the 76ers lost to Milwaukee, 113-112, in Game 7 of the Eastern semifinals.

LOTTERY DRAFT ORDER

1. Philadelphia 76ers

2. Boston Celtics

3. Golden State Warriors

4. Indiana Pacers

5. New York Knicks

6. Phoenix Suns

7. Dallas Mavericks

8. Cleveland Cavaliers