10 Years and 38 Trades: The Detroit "Bad Boys"
https://www.reddit.com/r/DetroitPistons/comments/46m2oq/oc_10_years_and_38_trades_the_detroit_bad_boys/
Hi all! I'm a basketball noob so your feedback and insight is appreciated. I plan on submitting it to r/nba once you folks have had a chance to peek at it.
In 30 for 30: Bad Boys Pistons GM Jack McCloskey says, "It took 10 years and 38 trades" to build the Bad Boys ... and within 2 years (after the wins in '89 and '90), the Pistons lost their GM, coach, Dennis Rodman, and Isiah Thomas punched Bill Laimbeer in the head, and that was the end of the Bad Boys.
This is a look at those 10 years and 38 trades leading up to the 1988-1989 season.
***
Part 1: The Trades
A year-by-year list of moves Pistons made leading up to "Bad Boys"
1979-80
- Received Washington No. 1 draft picks in 1980 and 1982 in exchange for free agent signing of Kevin Porter.
- Traded Andre Wakefield to Phoenix in exchange for future draft pick.
- Sent Detroit No. 1 pick in 1980 and Washington No. 1 pick in 1980 to Boston (along with free agent M.L. Carr) in exchange for Bob McAdoo.
- Traded Jim Brewer to Portland in exchange for future draft pick.
- Sent 1980 second-round pick and cash to Utah to complete veteran free agent signings of Ben Poquette and James McElroy.
- Acquired Ron Lee and 1980 second- and third-round picks from Atlanta in exchange for James McElroy.
- Acquired Kent Benson and 1980 first-round pick from Milwaukee in exchange for Bob Lanier.
1980-81
- Acquired Wayne Robinson from L.A. Lakers for 1981 second-round draft pick.
- Acquired Paul Mokeski from Houston for 1982 second-round draft pick.
- Signed veteran free agent Larry Wright and compensated Washington with 1981 third-round and 1983 - second-round draft picks.
- Acquired Edgar Jones from New Jersey for future considerations.
1981-82
- Traded Larry Drew to Kansas City in exchange for second-round draft choices in 1982 and 1984.
- Traded negotiating rights to Brad Branson to Dallas in exchange for future draft considerations.
- Acquired Jeff Judkins from Utah in exchange in exchange for a 1982 third-round pick and future considerations.
- Acquired Vinnie Johnson from Seattle in exchange for Greg Kesler.
- Acquired Ken Carr, Bill Laimbeer from Cleveland in exchange for Phil Hubbard, Paul Mokeski and 1982 first- and second-round draft picks.
- Traded Ken Carr to Portland in exchange for 1982 first-round pick.
- Acquired third-round pick in 1983, 1984 or 1985 for waiving right of first refusal in Portland’s signing of free agent Jeff Judkins.
1982-83
- Acquired Tom Owens from Indiana in exchange for future draft pick.
- Sent Steve Hayes to Cleveland in exchange for future draft pick.
- Acquired 1983 second- and 1984 third-round picks from San Antonio in exchange for Edgar Jones.
- Acquired Ray Tolbert from Seattle for second-round picks in 1984 and 1985.
1983-84
- Acquired Petur Gudmundsson from Portland in exchange for third-round 1984 pick (originally Portland’s).
- Acquired David Thirdkill from Phoenix Suns in exchange for two second-round draft picks (1985 and 1986) acquired from the Clippers in exchange for Ricky Pierce.
- Signed free agent Earl Cureton and traded two second-round draft picks (1989 and 1990) to the Philadelphia 76ers for their waiving the right of first refusal.
- Acquired Dan Roundfield from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Cliff Levingston, the rights to Antoine Carr and two second-round draft picks (1986 and 1987).
1984-85
- Acquired Rick Mahorn and Mike Gibson from the Washington Bullets in exchange for Dan Roundfield.
1986-87
- Acquired Adrian Dantley and two second-round draft picks (1987 and 1990) from Utah in exchange for Kelly Tripucka and Kent Benson.
- Acquired Sidney Green from Chicago in exchange for Earl Cureton and a 1987 second-round draft pick.
- Acquired Kurt Nimphius from the L.A. Clippers in exchange for a first- and second-round draft pick in 1987.
- Acquired William Bedford from Phoenix for Detroit’s 1988 first-round draft pick.
1987-88
- Acquired Ron Moore and a 1988 second-round draft choice from the New York Knicks in exchange for Sidney Green.
- Acquired Darryl Dawkins from the Utah Jazz in exchange for a second-round draft choice (1988) and an undisclosed amount of cash.
- Acquired James Edwards from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ron Moore and a second-round draft pick (1991).
1988-89
- Acquired Mark Aguirre from the Dallas Mavericks for Adrian Dantley and Detroit’s number-one draft choice in 1991.
- Traded guard Micheal Williams and draft rights to forward Kenny Battle to the Phoenix Suns for draft rights to forward Anthony Cook.
1989-90
- Signed free agent Scott Hastings.
1990-91
- Traded the rights to Anthony Cook to Denver in exchange for a 1992 second-round draft choice.
***
Part 2: Recap and review
These are repurposed notes from parts of the documentary that stood out to me and are not meant to be comprehensive.
"Detroit was a way station for people ...
your goal was to get out of Detroit."
We start a few decades prior to the "Bad Boys" era. It's the 1960's, and Detroit is rocked by civil unrest. As a result of the 12th street riots of 1967, Detroit is labeled a "sick city where fear, rumor, race prejudice and gun-buying have stretched black and white nerves to the verge of snapping." Approximately 300,000 people moved out of the city during the 1950's-60's, and it was with this historical context that the Detroit Pistons moved to the suburb of Pontiac, Michigan to play in the 80,000-seat Silverdome in a season where they would win only 16 games in their first season.
The Detroit Pistons don't get to their first finals till 1988 (and don't win till the following year), but the documentary does a great job of chronologically taking you through the acquisition of each core piece leading up to the first championship win. These include: Jack McCloskey (GM), Chuck Daly (coach), Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, and others.
1979-80 - Pistons for Magic, who says no?
When Jerry West became the general manager of the Lakers, his assistant coach Jack McCloskey felt he had earned the right to become head coach of the Lakers. When Jack was passed up for the job, he left to become the general manager of the Detroit Pistons.
Jack's first move as GM of the Pistons? He offered every player on the Pistons' roster in exchange for Magic Johnson. Guess who said no.
1981-82 - Isiah Thomas is selected #2 overall by the Detroit Pistons
Isiah Thomas scores 31 and 28 in their first two games, and the Pistons win their first three games of the season.
Rk G Date Age Tm Opp Rst PTS
1 1 1981-10-30 20-183 DET MIL W (+5) 31
2 2 1981-10-31 20-184 DET @ CHI W (+13) 28
3 3 1981-11-05 20-189 DET NJN W (+6) 15
The Pistons would end the year winning 39 games, which was more than they won in the previous two years combined (21 and 16).
Season Tm W-L Finish
1981-82 DET 39.43 3
Interesting aside:
The #1 pick in the 1981 draft was Mark Aguirre, a childhood friend of Isiah Thomas.
Aguirre was later acquired by the Detroit Pistons in trade #35 above, in exchange for Adrian Dantley and the number-one pick in the 1991 draft.
This trade was a shocker for many in the league as Dantley had been a league leader in in scoring (30.7 ppg) in previous years, and as a result Dantley is still bitter to this day.
The trade was a huge success, of course, and with Aguirre as the final piece, the Bad Boys would go on to win the subsequent two seasons.
1982-83 - the Detroit Pistons acquire center Bill Laimbeer
Laimbeer (trade #16) was the third core piece of the "Bad Boys." By the end of the documentary I felt that Laimbeer was the primary and overwhelming force behind the Pistons aggressive and physical style of play. In fact, he was the only player who really got under my skin and made me dislike the team (I guess that's the point).
Bill Laimbeer vs. Charles Barkley (full brawl)
Pistons Legend: Bill Laimbeer
Season Tm W-L Finish
1982-83 DET 37-45 3
1983-84 - Daddy Rich joins the team
Chuck Daly, who had been fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers after going 9-32 in the previous season, is hired by the Pistons to coach the team. Daly would lead the Pistons to playoff appearances every year of his tenure, including three finals appearances, and two championships.
The Best of Chuck Daly (video)
Hall of Fame induction speech (video)
Pistons Legend: Chuck Daly
Season Tm W-L Finish
1983-84 DET 49-33 2
1984-85 - Isiah takes over
The Pistons won 49 games this season and faced off with the New York Knicks in the playoffs. The Pistons would eventually lose the series 3-2, but Isiah's unforgettable performance in the 4th quarter of game 5 put the league on notice.
Season Tm W-L Finish
1984-85 DET 46-36 2
"An era of coastal royalty"
The era leading up to the rise and eventual crowning of the Pistons is referred to as "coastal royalty" with Bird's Celtics in the East, and Magic's Lakers in the West. In fact, prior to Detroit's first win in 1989, here's what the record looked like:
1988: Los Angeles Lakers
1987: Los Angeles Lakers
1986: Boston Celtics
1985: Los Angeles Lakers
1984: Boston Celtics
1986-87 - "It was over just like that."
The Pistons continue to add pieces with Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn (trade #27), Dennis Rodman, Adrian Dantley (trade #28), and John Salley. This would be the first time the Pistons would win more than 50 games since 1974.
You can checkout games from the series in this playlist
1987 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 3:
Larry Bird vs. Bill Laimbeer full out brawl, both players ejected, Pistons win (video)
1987 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 5:
Robert Parish ends Bill Laimbeer (video)
The Steal
Isiah panics on the inbounds pass, Larry Bird steals, Celtics win (video)
Season Tm W-L Finish
1985-86 DET 46-36 3
1986-87 DET 52-30 2
The Darth Vader of NBA
Dennis Rodman, just completing his rookie year with the Pistons says that Larry Bird is overrated, and that he only won three straight MVP trophies because he's white. The documentary plays these comments down by attributing them to Rodman's naivete as a rookie who didn't know anything outside of basketball. While Rodman gets away mostly unharmed, Isiah Thomas takes this opportunity to dig himself a very deep hole by parrotting Rodman's comments and expanding on them.
June 4, 1987 Halftime report on the Isiah Thomas scandal covers the remarks, the scandal, and the ensuing press conference with Larry Bird (video)
At this point the Pistons are already hated by the league and most basketball fans outside of Detroit for their style of play. This only added fuel to the fire. At the same time, however, this near-universal hate helped the team gel like never before.
"No one liked me, no one liked Rick, people were starting to dislike Isiah more and more. Okay, then ... use it to our advantage." - Bill Laimbeer
Rick Mahorn talks "Bad Boys" (video)
Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer "tap-tap" foul on Larry Bird (video)
Ground Air Jordan
This part of the documentary was probably my favorite. With the "Bad Boys" fully formed and about to reach their apex, they face Michael Jordan's Bulls in the 1988 Eastern Conference semi finals. The series is incredibly physical and the Pistons stomp on the Bulls 4-1. At one point Rick Mahorn fights the entire Bulls team and staff (video).
Just as the Pistons had to overcome the east coast NBA royalty in the Boston Celtics, the Bulls had to overcome the Detroit Pistons. Jordan would lose to the Pistons three times: 1988 eastern conference semifinals, 1989 eastern conference finals, and the 1990 eastern conference finals, before finally conquering the Pistons in 1991.
"I dont think we would've won six championships
without getting over that hump in Detroit."
- Michael Jordan
I highly recommend further reading on "The Jordan Rules" that the Pistons employed against the Bulls. Here's a video interpretation of the rules. Sam Smith wrote a book by the same name (not an affiliate link), however note that the book covers the 1990-91 season.
The 1988-89 Detroit Oakland Raiders
After two brutal losses in 1987 (Isiah panics, Bird steals the pass in Game 5) and 1988 (phantom foul call on Bill Laimbeer in Game 6), the team is frustrated, dealing with internal strife, and on the verge of unravelling.
"Either we can use [the hate] to our advantage,
or it's going to hinder us severely.
Okay. We'll be like the Oakland Raiders."
- Isiah Thomas
They didn't quite course correct until the acquisition of Mark Agguirre from Dallas that February (trade #35). For the first time in decades, the "Bad Boys" had given the Detroit Pistons an identity and culture to rally behind. The team would finish the year with a franchise best record 63-wins (broken in 2005-2006 season with 64 wins).
Season Tm W-L Finish
1988-89 DET 63-19 1
The Pistons would go into the playoffs with the best record in the league, get to the ECF with no losses, close out the Bulls in 6, and finally have years of struggling and fighting pay off when they beat the Lakers 4-0. The Bad Boys had effectively ended both the coastal royalties.
Bad Boys, Bad Boys, No More
This is something I wasn't familiar with prior to watching the documentary. In 1989 there was an NBA expansion draft to include Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. Each of the pre-existing teams had to give up 2 players to get down to an 8-man roster, and as a result Rick Mahorn is let go. In the film, this is a pretty crushing moment as Mahorn is brought to tears on the screen and has to take a moment to compose himself.
With Mahorn gone, Isiah declares the Bad Boys are ended. Here's a news story from Jun 16, 1989 about the baddest bad boy being traded.
"10 years and 38 trades"
It took 10 years 38 trades to build the championship roster that would go back to back in 1989 and 1990, but by 1991 the grind was beginning to take its toll. Age, injuries, and mental and physical fatigue had gotten to the Bad Boys and the team began to unravel. Just as the Pistons were waning, the Bulls were better than ever. Having learned hard-fought lessons, literally, from the Pistons, the Bulls had improved their roster and were both physically and mentally ready.
"When the run is over you know it's over."
- Isiah Thomas
Overall thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary. I had read a bit about the Bad Boys in the past but hadn't seen much footage of how bad(ass) they really were. The film does a great job of giving you the historical context, and enough personal details about each of the core players to help you understand how the identity and culture of the Detroit Pistons came to be. It also does a fantastic job of showcasing how elite teams in the NBA are defined by their opponents (Celtics v. Lakers, Celtics v. Pistons, Lakers v. Pistons, Pistons v. Bulls) and how they deal with their struggles and failures. Finally, the sheer amount of effort it takes to put together a roster that's worthy of contending.
There is a lot of personal and emotional stuff in there as well, if you want to know more about players' families (for example, Isiah talks about heroine in his neighbourhood growing up and losing his brother to alocohol abuse).
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