Dunleavy Is Bucks’ Coach of ‘90s : Pro basketball: They take him away from Lakers after two seasons with 8-year, $8-million contract.

As if to dot the I’s and cross the T’s on their most difficult season, the Lakers saw their bright, young coach hired away Tuesday.

Mike Dunleavy left for the Milwaukee Bucks, who whisked him away within 48 hours of opening negotiations that were held cross-country by telephone.

He did not, as had been speculated, become general manager or director of player personnel, but he did get an eight-year, $8-million contract.

With bonuses, sources said, the deal can be worth $12 million. The term is believed to be the longest ever given an NBA coach.

“Jerry Buss had offered Mike a contract extension,” Laker General Manager Jerry West said. “But to be candid with you, this was a special opportunity for Mike. . . .

“I would like to say to you, this was really a unique offer, and that’s all I’m going to say. It’s an unprecedented contract. This is a personal relationship between Mike and an owner (Milwaukee’s Herb Kohl).”

As compensation for letting Dunleavy out of the last two years on his contract, the Lakers accepted two No. 2 draft picks from the Bucks--one this spring, the other in 1995.

Dunleavy spent five seasons as a player and assistant coach in Milwaukee, impressing Kohl, who reportedly urged Coach-General Manager Del Harris to move upstairs full time and let Dunleavy take over.

Before that could happen, West hired Dunleavy, then 36, to replace Pat Riley in the spring of 1990.

Dunleavy’s first Laker team had a 58-24 record, surprised the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals.

His second Laker team finished without Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Sam Perkins, but still made the playoffs.

By the end of this season, Harris had moved upstairs in Milwaukee and then out entirely. Kohl was looking for a new coach and general manager amid speculation that he would bid for Dunleavy.

The bidding started and concluded Sunday, leaving jaws agape all over Los Angeles.

“I was shocked, really, to tell you the truth,” Dunleavy said. “ . . . You only read about things like this happening. You don’t know that they can happen to you.

“I thought there was no way I would be leaving Los Angeles. It was a working relationship I loved. Los Angeles is a place where players want to come out and play. They are willing to redo their contracts to come and play in Los Angeles. The tradition that was here--I didn’t think there was any way I would really basically go back to Milwaukee. . . .

“I loved my job, and I enjoyed being in Los Angeles. Everything here was as good as it could be. But you know, in this business, when you talk, sometimes things can happen that change your mind. It happened in a matter of 48 hours. . . . It came totally out of the blue. It was just a fastball that just happened.

“But this opportunity again is really unique. It’s something I couldn’t pass up.”

West says that he and Dunleavy, aware of the speculation in the Milwaukee newspapers, were joking last Wednesday about whether he could get permission to talk with the Bucks. Thursday, West met Buss in Las Vegas to discuss the team. West says Buss told him they were going to extend Dunleavy’s contract two years, with a raise that would have made him the game’s second highest-paid coach within four years.

Saturday, Kohl called West, asking permission to talk to Dunleavy.

Sunday, Kohl offered to make Dunleavy the second highest-paid coach, to the Knicks’ Riley, immediately.

Dunleavy insists that he is leaving for no other reason--not the riots or the declining fortunes of the Lakers--except that Kohl made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

He went back and forth on it until Monday afternoon.

“I really felt like this was my family,” he said. “I had a hard time pulling the trigger. I knew it was best for my immediate family. What happens when somebody is so good to you and says to you: ‘You can take it, it’s best for you’--you’re kind of like sitting there saying, ‘No, don’t be so nice to me, don’t do that’--because it makes it even harder, which it did.

“All those thoughts went through my mind, like what impact does it have on the organization? I felt bad about leaving, because I was so happy here.”

By Tuesday night, he was attending a news conference in Milwaukee, working on being happy there again, with no more fiscal concerns for the rest of the 1900s.

And the Lakers were back in the market for a coach for the second time in three springs.

For his part, West thanked Dunleavy for what he had done and wished him well, maintaining a stiff upper lip.

“We had a young coach, somebody we thought was going to be here awhile,” West said. “And now we’re going to have to look again.”

For the 1,000th time, someone asked what else could happen this season.

“There would only be one thing left, and you’re talking to it,” West said, grinning, perhaps alluding to rumors that he would leave. “But that’s not going to happen, I don’t think.”

DUNLEAVY AS A COACH, PLAYER

PLAYER

COLLEGE

1972-76--Played at University of South Carolina.

NBA

1976--Drafted in sixth round by Philadelphia 76ers (99th overall), in which he played parts of 1976 and 1977.

1977--Waived Nov. 14.

1978--Signed by Houston as free agent March 10 and played with the club through 1981-1982 season.

1981--Scored in double figures (10.5 points per game) for first time in five NBA seasons.

1982--Signed by San Antonio as a veteran free agent (Houston did not match offer in exchange for a third round draft choice) on October 16.

1983--Led NBA in three-point shooting percentage (67 for 194, 34.5%) with San Antonio.

1984--Signed by Milwaukee as a veteran free agent (San Antonio did not match offer in exchange for a fourth-round draft choice and cash) on March 8. In final 17 regular-season games and 15 playoff games, he averaged a career-high 11.2 points per game.

1985--Waived by Milwaukee Oct. 24.

1989--Signed by Milwaukee Feb. 19 to 10-day contract. Waived by Milwaukee Feb. 24.

1990--Signed by Milwaukee March 2. Waived March 9. He finished his NBA career with the following averages and shooting percentages: points (8.0 per game), assists (3.9), rebounds (1.6), steals (0.8), field goals (46.7%), free throws (81%) and three-point shots (33.9%).

COACHING

1977-78--Player-coach of the Carolina Lightning of All-American Basketball Alliance.

1987-90--Assistant coach with Milwaukee Bucks.

1990--Named coach of Lakers, taking over for Pat Riley on June 11.

1990-91--Lakers finish second in the Pacific Division with a 58-24 record and have a 12-7 record in the playoffs--reaching the NBA championship series, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls, 4-1.

1991-92--Lakers finish sixth in Pacific Division with a 43-39 record and have a 1-3 record in the playoffs.

1992--Named coach of Milwaukee Bucks on May 12.