On this day in Boston Celtics history, President of Basketball Operations Red Auerbach pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history in 1980. Auerbach dealt a pair of first-round picks used to select big man Joe Barry Carroll and center Rickey Brown to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for big man Robert Parish and the draft pick used to select Kevin McHale.
In one fell swoop, Boston’s head honcho scooped up two-thirds of one of the greatest frontcourts ever assembled. Forward Larry Bird, who had already been drafted, completed the trio that win titles together in 1981, 1984, and 1986.
It is also the anniversary of the 1978 NBA draft, in which the Celtics took three players of note.