The Speed Game: My Fast Times in Basketball by Paul Westhead

Author:Paul Westhead [Westhead, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, Basketball, SPO004000 Sports & Recreation / Basketball, Biography & Autobiography, BIO016000 Biography & Autobiography / Sports, Sports
ISBN: 9781496222602
Google: DFT7DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2020-11-15T23:49:43.810811+00:00

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Though I believed it was imperative for us to trade Jim Chones, it was Nixon who attracted interest from other teams. The Denver Nuggets offered to trade David Thompson for Norm Nixon. Our general manager, Bill Sharman, was very excited about the deal. He believed Thompson would help our scoring and rebounding power. Jerry Buss liked the idea because David Thompson represented one of a select group of superstars who excite the fans by his mere presence on the floor. At his best, David Thompson has been seen leaping tall buildings en route to a spectacular slam dunk.

For these reasons, the Lakers organization wanted to do the deal. I was reluctant and put them off by demanding we find out more about Thompson’s physical health before we did anything. Jerry West was sent to Denver to see Thompson play and gather information on his readiness. Jerry West reported back that David Thompson was scoring almost at will and that his health seemed to be fine. I decided to go scout David Thompson in person to evaluate the pending trade. On a free day, Pat Riley and I flew to Seattle to see Thompson play against the Sonics. We didn’t want to make it an official trip, so we got to the Kingdome and bought tickets from scalpers outside the arena. With trench coats on, we sat high up behind the basket. No one recognized me, but the people behind us recognized Riley. Our collective opinion after watching the game was that David Thompson was not a fit for the Lakers. He played okay against Seattle but wasn’t the guard we needed. The deal was all but complete, except I still disagreed. I sensed the others were annoyed with my dissent. But I had some strong doubts, so I said no.

A major concern was who would handle the ball, especially on the fast break, without Nixon and with Magic injured. I felt that Norm Nixon was a key to our offensive flow and that David Thompson would not provide that valuable element. The Lakers management argued that this would only be a temporary problem and that with the return of Magic Johnson, we would have the biggest and best backcourt in the game. I conceded that things would be much improved with Magic handling the ball, but I was not convinced that David Thompson would be better than Nixon as a sidekick for Magic Johnson.

In one respect, I should have consented to the deal because Norm Nixon had been fighting me every inch of the way. He was outspoken in his disapproval of my handling of Jim Chones. Norm Nixon was a malcontent who never missed an opportunity to knock me and my plan of attack. Now I had the perfect opportunity to send him off to Denver and be rid of him. But Nixon always gave a good hard effort on the court, even if he hated your guts, which was fine with me. I could put up with his grumbling as long as he did his job.

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