This Date in Seattle Supersonics History: Feb. 22, 1971, Spencer v NBA

It was 32 years ago today that Spencer Haywood went from the hardcourt to the Supreme Court, one of the biggest steps in his controversial and crucial case against professional basketball.

Haywood's case has been percolating for a long time, with lower courts initially affirming his right to play. This was affirmed by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on January 26th, but on February 17th, NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy ruled that Haywood's contract with the Sonics was invalid. Thus, on February 22nd, Haywood and his legal team filed a petition with the Supreme Court so that he could continue his livelihood as a professional basketball player.

It's difficult in hindsight to appreciate how much nonsense Haywood had to go through. He was simultaneously fighting:

A)  a lawsuit with the ABA's Denver Rockets, who claimed he was still under contract to them

B)  a lawsuit with the NBA about whether he had the right to play before his 'four years removed from high school' bit was up

C)  a petition to be able to play while (B) was being resolved

Oh, and he had to travel around the country appearing in different courthouses, as well as being physically ready to play professional basketball.

And he was all of 21 years old.

Eventually, the courts all wound up ruling in Haywood's favor, paving the way for Shawn Kemp, Moses Malone, etc. to play in the league. February 22, 1971, though, was a pivotal first step of that whole process.

(Also, it's Chunkstyle's birthday today, so join me in wishing the best artist I'll ever know a Happy Birthday. Still waiting on that Pulitzer, young man!)

Happy Birthday Dr. J

Happy birthday to the great Julius Erving. May you never lose that magic SPALDING TOUCH!!!

(Classic artwork by the equally great Jack Davis)

This Date in Sonic History: Feb. 21, 2008: Throwing in the Towel

When I first heard about the Houston/Sacramento trade involving Thomas Robinson, I couldn't help but think of another trade involving a team expected to be relocating in the near future.

Yes, it was the Sonics, and yes, it involved Wally Szczerbiak, the rich man's Jim Farmer. (Face it, Paul, in a sexy-off between Wally World and Jim Farmer, the match would be over before the massage oils got fully warmed.)

It was February 21, 2008, and the Sonics were throwing valuables out the window at a cops-are-coming pace. The reader must remember that in mid-February 2008, the only decent offensive option for Seattle other than Kevin Durant was Szczerbiak, and by trading him the team was essentially saying that even though Szczerbiak's expiring contract was valuable, they were more interested in paring salary than anything else.

It was, of course, a logical choice to make, and one that only a team utterly disinterested in fielding a competitive team could make.

And so it was that the Sonics surrendered Szcerbiak and Delonte West and received in return, Ira Newble (!), Donyell Marshall (!!), and Adrian Griffin (!!!), who would, of course, go on to score a combined 24 points in the remainder of their collective careers.

The money quote came from Sam Presti (via USA Today), when he was asked whether the Sonics' owner's financial considerations were involved in the transaction:

"Absolutely not," Presti said. "Clay has been tremendously supportive of our decision making on the basketball side."