Post by Alex Confer on Feb 27, 2006 0:33:56 GMT -5
This is some incredibly interesting stuff.
For those of you that don't know much about this topic, I'll elaborate. Len Bias was one of the highest-touted players to come out of college in a long while. Some even suggested he could eclipse Jordan. The 76ers had the first overall pick in 1986 and were expected to take Bias, but shockingly chose 7-0 center Brad Daugherty and dealt his rights to Cleveland in exchange for Roy Hinson. The Celtics, who were seated at #2, responded by drafting Bias.
Less than 48 hours later on June 19, 1986, Len Bias died of cocaine-induced heart failure. He was only 22 years old.
It's funny, because Jack McMahon's hunch ended up changing the course of Sixers history. By passing on Bias and trading away Daugherty, they felt obligated to do something drastic. Later that night, Moses Malone was traded with Terry Catledge and two first-round picks to the Washington Bullets for Cliff Robinson (not the one we're familiar with) and Jeff Ruland. Ruland played 13 games for Philly over two years; Robinson was retired before 1990.
That, my friends, was the "1986 Draft Day Fiasco".
The more you know!
Philadelphia had the first pick, but the 76ers were strangely ambivalent. "We never could get comfortable with that draft," says Pat Williams, who was then in his final days as the 76ers GM. "We thought Daugherty was soft. And Jack McMahon, our chief scout, didn't want Bias. I remember him saying, `There's just something about him I don't like.' And Jack just passed. Jack wasn't infallible, but he was pretty good, and I didn't usually question him on personnel matters."
The 76ers wound up trading the pick to Cleveland in exchange for Roy Hinson as part of a complete makeover that also included trading Moses Malone and other considerations for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson. None of it worked out, because of injury. "It was the draft night from Hell," says Williams.
Was McMahon prescient? Was he on to something about Bias's nocturnal habits? We'll never know. He died in the late '80s without ever specifying his reservations about Bias.
The 76ers wound up trading the pick to Cleveland in exchange for Roy Hinson as part of a complete makeover that also included trading Moses Malone and other considerations for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson. None of it worked out, because of injury. "It was the draft night from Hell," says Williams.
Was McMahon prescient? Was he on to something about Bias's nocturnal habits? We'll never know. He died in the late '80s without ever specifying his reservations about Bias.
For those of you that don't know much about this topic, I'll elaborate. Len Bias was one of the highest-touted players to come out of college in a long while. Some even suggested he could eclipse Jordan. The 76ers had the first overall pick in 1986 and were expected to take Bias, but shockingly chose 7-0 center Brad Daugherty and dealt his rights to Cleveland in exchange for Roy Hinson. The Celtics, who were seated at #2, responded by drafting Bias.
Less than 48 hours later on June 19, 1986, Len Bias died of cocaine-induced heart failure. He was only 22 years old.
It's funny, because Jack McMahon's hunch ended up changing the course of Sixers history. By passing on Bias and trading away Daugherty, they felt obligated to do something drastic. Later that night, Moses Malone was traded with Terry Catledge and two first-round picks to the Washington Bullets for Cliff Robinson (not the one we're familiar with) and Jeff Ruland. Ruland played 13 games for Philly over two years; Robinson was retired before 1990.
That, my friends, was the "1986 Draft Day Fiasco".
The more you know!
