On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise traded away Hall of Fame big man Bob McAdoo. His tenure with the Celtics was a short and awkward one. McAdoo did not want to play for Boston, and team general manager Red Auerbach nearly quit his job after owner John Y. Brown used multiple draft picks to secure McAdoo’s services.
The Celtics already had a future Hall of Fame center — Dave Cowens — who was also the head coach, so Brown’s meddling very nearly became a serious disaster. Red decided to stay and McAdoo was traded as compensation for Boston signing future coach and general manager M.L. Carr as a player.
Ironically, Boston ended up getting back the draft assets that would be used to get both Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.