Or perhaps, this is Ah Gan’s miracle alone?
As mentioned earlier, I missed the opportunity due to a back injury.
This wasn’t the first time I missed the chance to work with the Trail Blazers.
Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to enter the NBA as a top draft pick.
That was in 1978, I declared for the NBA draft, and the Trail Blazers wanted to select me with the number one pick.
They had just won the championship in the regular season, but everything was ruined because of Walton’s injury.
Originally, they were full of potential and had a chance to build a dynasty in the late ’70s.
But injuries ruined everything, Walton’s accusations against the Trail Blazers spread throughout the league, and at that time, all the young players and stars didn’t want to play there.
Back then, my friend Ed Jax called me, saying that the Trail Blazers might select me with the first pick in the first round.
I told the media that I didn’t want to play for the Trail Blazers because my lumbar spine couldn’t handle it, so better let me go.
These words were somewhat harsh, but that was the reputation of the Trail Blazers among players at the time.
Besides, I promised my mother that I would finish college before entering the NBA, and many teams couldn’t wait a year.
Including the teams picking before the Celtics, at that time, managing an NBA team was quite difficult, and a vacant season could mean bankruptcy. They urgently needed a ticket-selling player to attract fans into the arenas, using ticket sales to maintain their fragile finances.
In the end, the Trail Blazers selected Mychal Thompson in the first round, a guy who later caused us a lot of trouble.
The 1984 draft selection was truly transformative for the Trail Blazers. They picked Ah Gan with the second pick.
Ah Gan changed the Trail Blazers and the league as well. He altered the course of the entire NBA, pushing it to become a global league, but that’s another story.
By 1996, the situation had changed significantly. I wanted a job, lacking real influence in the Celtics’ management team.
At that time, the Celtics tasked me with finding a coach. I called Trail Blazers’ GM Buckwalter to ask if PJ Carlesimo might consider coming to Boston to work.
As far as I knew, he did a decent job in Portland, but wasn’t very popular. Perhaps he could give Boston a try.
Buckwalter said it was possible, and at the same time, he asked if I would consider coming to the Trail Blazers as a coach if PJ Carlesimo left.
I was finding a coach for the Celtics, found the Trail Blazers, who were willing to offer their coach to the Celtics, and then let me coach the Trail Blazers...
It sounded like four fools, but that’s the NBA. The circle is small, and many decisions are more casual than you might think, with makeshift operations everywhere.
The Trail Blazers’ management is an exception. They once assembled the best decision-making team in the league, with the best injury management.
However, within a few years, they suffered raids from the Heat and the Lakers, and Buckwalter was on the brink of retirement (he retired in 1997).
Due to Jerry West’s departure, he had to resume the GM position in 1993. This manager who signed Moses Malone had a keen sense for unconventional moves.
The owner of the Trail Blazers was Tang Jianguo, a well-known entertainer in America. Everyone knew him, but most disliked him, thinking he was flashy and profit-driven.
He was the gambling king of Atlantic City, but in the ’90s, the focus of America’s gambling industry was shifting to Las Vegas, and his real estate and gambling businesses were declining.
Basketball became his most successful investment. In 1993, he won four championships and acquired a brand new, modern sports arena, avoiding the fate of bankruptcy.
When the Trail Blazers faced a crisis, many believed Donald would sell the team, cashing out at the peak, but he didn’t do that. He persevered.
This made many people look at him differently, including me. I had a much-improved view of him, understanding why Jerry West agreed to work for the Trail Blazers in the first place.
Later, we had a call. He expressed his desire for me to coach the Trail Blazers, believing my arrival could bring new vitality to the team.
By then, Ah Gan had retired. The Trail Blazers had endured a season of decline, selecting two high schoolers in the 1996 draft.
One was Kobe Bryant, aged 17 years and 312 days, the other was Jermaine O’Neal, aged 17 years and 261 days.
God, even when you add their ages together, they weren’t as old as me. At that time, no one knew what the Trail Blazers were planning.
Choosing two such young kids, yet Donald told me it was Ah Gan’s decision. He liked these two kids.
So I said, "If Ah Gan is willing to come back to play, I’m willing to come to the Trail Blazers to coach."
I just said it casually, who would have thought that Donald would call me that night, saying Ah Gan was willing to return.
I was shocked. Ah Gan decided to come out of retirement just like that? Is he coming back? The red terror is about to descend again?
On June 28, 1996, the "I’m Back" announcement indeed appeared in the media. It didn’t say it was Ah Gan, but everyone knew it was him.
The entire American public opinion was in an uproar, with everyone discussing Ah Gan’s impending return.
Too many people were anticipating, and too many were afraid. This would undoubtedly be an event that could overturn the league’s landscape.
I believe when those six letters appeared, the NBA players recalled once again the fear of being dominated by Ah Gan.