RIP Jack Ramsey - Bradley connection

[tornado]

I am sure everyone saw that Dr. Jack Ramsey passed away - coaching legend in the NBA who won the NBA Championship with the Trailblazers.

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/dr--jack-ramsay--hall-of-fame-coach-and-legendary-broadcaster--dies-at-89-161352640.html

his "Bradley connection"??
...he was the General Manager of the 1967 Philly 76er's that won the NBA title, but the big moves he made that led to his crowning achievement of coaching the Trailblazers to the NBA Title...
were when he traded Wilt Chamberlain and Chet Walker from the Championship Philly team....and ultimately bringing Chet to the Chicago Bulls!
That led to a HUGE demise of the 76er's (30-52), then Ramsey's firing - which set the stage for him to bounce around a few years then be hired by lowly Portland in 1976 and win their only NBA title in 1977 in his very first year there!

[capecod]

Bulls GM Pat Williams role in Walker trade

Chicago Bulls GM Pat Williams told the story of his trade for Chet Walker in his book 'The Magic of Teamwork':


Pat Williams was a 29 year old business manager for the 76ers in '69 when Bill Veeck(of St Louis Browns,Chicago White Sox MLB fame) called Pat to tell him that the Chicago Bulls wanted to hire him as GM.

Williams had two years left on his contract with the 76ers and went to Philly GM/Head Coach Jack Ramsey to ask for his release.

It turned out the Ramsey was talking to the Bulls about trading Chet Walker for Jimmy Washington(a Philly favorite from Villanova). Ramsey thought that Washington was going to be a superstar. But the talks were going nowhere-partially because the Bulls didn't have a GM.

Ramsey agreed to release Williams from his final two years IF Williams promised that his first move as GM of the Bull was to trade Washington for Walker.

Williams was all for the deal(having been a 76er employee and seeing Walker play over the years). Williams accepted the Bulls GM job, and true to his word, went to Bulls HC Dick Motta with the trade(Walker for Williams).

This was the first time Motta had heard that the Chet Walker offer was on the table. Nobody had bothered to tell him that Ramsey(76ers) were offering to trade Chet!

Naturally Motta was all for it.

Williams first move as Bulls GM was trading for Chet Walker(now in the Basketball HOF). Washington never became a superstar for the 76ers (as Ramsey had predicted).

That Walker-Washington trade is still to this day considered a dark day for all 76ers fans-sited as the a fatal blow to the demise of the great Philly teams of the mid/ late 60s.