Chapter 746 - 4 Win-Win Deals_4

Jane Walker completed the operation, thinking he had dealt with Raja and focused on signing Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis.

However, the Celtics made a mistake; when they acquired the signing rights for Raja, he had an existing contract with the Lakers.

After negotiating with KK-split, they amended the contract, setting the first year’s salary at $370,000 and the following two years at $450,000 each.

This fatal mistake was seized by Mark Fleisher, who took over as Raja’s agent from Gas Rich in April 1990 and began scrutinizing the contract issues between Raja and the Celtics.

According to the 1988 labor agreement, once a rookie player signs with a team, the terms of his contract are set, and cannot be altered until the contract ends.

The main purpose of this is to prevent some rookies from demanding more money or longer terms after signing, to protect the interests of the teams.

Unfortunately, the Celtics made a mistake; they overlooked that the contract Raja signed with the Lakers was included in the trade to the Celtics.

When they negotiated with KK-split, they signed a new contract, added provisions, and altered the amounts, violating the labor agreement.

Mark Fleisher decided to capitalize on this loophole, suing the Celtics, demanding the court declare the contract between the Celtics and Raja void.

Mark’s father, Larry Fleisher, and Red Auerbach never got along well, and although Auerbach later tried to mend relations with Fleisher, it was largely unsuccessful.

The Red cardinal always wanted Ah Gan to have a Chinese meal in Boston, but this meal never happened until Larry Fleisher’s death, so Mark Fleisher naturally had a poor impression of the Celtics.

Of course, personal discord is not the crux of the problem; the key issue is that the Messenger Team from Italy wanted to acquire Raja as a form of revenge against the Celtics.

In negotiations with the Celtics about Brian Shaw, the management of the Messenger Team really disliked the arrogant Celtics management, feeling no affection for this legendary green army.

While the Celtics were previously unbeatable in America’s sports environment, in the international basketball scene, in Europe, Auerbach’s methods were ineffective.

Larry Fleisher, having cultivated overseas connections for many years, passed his network and experience to his son, Mark Fleisher, who dealt a heavy blow to the Celtics on behalf of the Messenger Team.

Now, Jane Walker faces multiple predicaments: Brian Shaw does not want to return, Reggie Lewis is unwilling to renew, Dino Raja’s contract is void, Dee Brown demands a high price (Stanley demands a contract of at least $500,000 annual salary for Brown).

In addition, the Celtics have not settled on a coach; Jane Walker tried to invite Duke University’s head coach Mike Shashevsky, who refused.

Without players or a coach, the new season for the Celtics looks very bleak.

Red Auerbach’s methods are completely ineffective now, and the Celtic’s old ship struggles in the new era’s ocean.

If these issues are not resolved, even starting the Celtics’ training camp is problematic, and one can only imagine what the new season would look like.

Just as Jane Walker was overwhelmed by these problems, a call came in from Portland; it was Jerry West.

"Oh, Jerry? Is that you? It’s surprising that you would call here."

"I’m also surprised, I never expected to call you there."

West indeed did not anticipate that he would be calling the general manager’s office of the Celtics to discuss a major trade.

If it were in the past, Jane Walker would mock after receiving a call from West and then hang up.

Now it was different, Jane Walker needed any possible lifeline to rescue the current crisis.

"I hope you’re not here to mock me, everyone knows we’re in trouble."

"I don’t have time for that, I would like to propose a feasible plan and give you some advice."

"By all means, let’s hear it..."

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In September 1990, the major news of Charles Barkley being traded to the Suns shocked the League.

A star forward moving to the Western Conference strengthened the power of the West, making the Portland Trail Blazers face a strong challenger.

However, soon a trade by the Trail Blazers equally stunned all teams in the League, the New York Times claimed, "Jerry West is laying a solid foundation for the Trail Blazers dynasty."

Portland Trail Blazers sent their Yugoslavian center Vlade Divac, shooting guard Jeff Hornacek, in exchange from the Boston Celtics for shooting guard Reggie Lewis, forward Ed Pinkney, and the priority signing rights of center Dino Rađa.

After the deal was completed, Celtics, following Jerry West’s advice, withdrew the contract dispute of Brian Shaw from court to arbitration by the League.

League arbitration was much faster than court proceedings, a process set by the 1988 new labor agreement to quickly resolve conflicts between players and teams.

Professor Daniel Collins was assigned by the League to conduct the hearing, in charge of managing this dispute; after repeated appeals and arbitration hearings, it was determined that Brian Shaw’s signing with Celtics was valid, and he must play for the Celtics.

Immediately thereafter, Jerry West through Ah Gan’s connection reached out to Mark Fleisher, and after consulting with Fleisher, decided to trade Rađa to the Trail Blazers (since Divac went to Boston, he inevitably couldn’t coexist with Divac); Trail Blazers retained Rađa’s signing rights but allowed Rađa to play in Italy for the Messenger Team.

With Rađa, the Messenger Team’s demand for Brian Shaw decreased, they informed Brian Shaw not to insist on executing the second year of his contract, and to stay and play well in Boston.

Receiving the League’s arbitration and the news from the Messenger Team, Brian Shaw completely gave up the idea of playing in Italy, and helplessly reported to the Celtics’ new season training camp.

Reggie Lewis still had a year on his contract worth $400,000, by going to the wealthier Portland Trail Blazers, Celtics no longer needed to worry about the renewal issues for the 1991 season.

As a replacement, Jeff Hornacek was exactly the type of low-profile white shooting guard Celtics liked, Hornacek definitely had the potential to make it to the All-Star.

Regarding Divac, a versatile all-around center, brought long-missed vibrancy to the Celtics’ frontcourt, highly desired by Celtics management.

Apart from solving the locker room crisis beforehand, the 6-foot-7 Reggie Lewis finally filled the defensive and athletic talent gap in the Trail Blazers’ small forward and guard lines.

It could be said, this was a mutually beneficial trade, allowing better allocation of resources.

Moreover, everyone was clear, Reggie Lewis was specifically prepared for Michael Jordan.

It’s said that upon seeing Lewis traded to the Trail Blazers, Bulls’ GM Jerry Krause was furious, swearing in his office and smashing whatever he could grab.

After venting, the obese Krause sat in his office blankly, then picked up the phone to call his boss Reinsdorf, asking: "Boss, can we think of a way to trade for Hakeem Olajuwon!"