It’s not every day that one trade can be the start of an era. Even so, that doesn’t mean it’s never happened. Back in 1980, the Boston Celtics made a trade that netted them Robert Parish from the Golden State Warriors and Kevin McHale through the draft. Paired next to then-second-year player Larry Bird, these three quickly made their presence felt in Boston as the Celtics’ new “Big Three.” Together, this trio won three titles and made five NBA Finals appearances. Let’s turn back the clock and look at the trade that helped create a new dynasty in Boston.
Boston Celtics Trade Review #16: Kevin McHale and Robert Parish
Full Trade Details
Boston Celtics receive: Robert Parish and the 1980 No. 3 pick (later became Kevin McHale)
Golden State Warriors receive: The 1980 No. 1 pick (later became Joe Barry Carroll) and the 1980 No. 13 pick (later became Rickey Brown)
Why Did This Trade Happen?
Despite Carroll being considered the No. 1 prospect of the 1980 draft, Celtics head coach Red Auerbach wasn’t sold:
“Publicly, Celtics legend Red Auerbach coveted Carroll, an All-America center at Purdue and the consensus top pick. Privately, he favored University of Minnesota forward Kevin McHale, but didn’t want to use the No. 1 overall pick for him.”
The Celtics were already an elite team in the NBA, having finished 61-21 the season prior, and didn’t need the No. 1 pick. Trading away one of the most valuable assets in basketball for more pieces to help the team win right away was a smart decision. It also helps that Boston happened to get two Hall of Fame big men along the way.
As for the Warriors, they had just finished the 1979-80 season with a 24-58 record, tied for second-worst in the league. Parish was also going to be a restricted free agent in 1981, and the Warriors simply couldn’t afford him. Then Warriors GM/coach Al Attles made this clear:
“We didn’t lose Robert Parish because we wanted to trade Robert Parish,” Attles says. “We lost him for financial reasons. We couldn’t afford him.”
For Golden State, being able to trade for the No. 1 pick of the draft for a guy they were expecting to lose anyway was a no-brainer.
Boston Celtics Aftermath
The Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals the very next season following this trade. This marked the first of the three championships the Celtics’ “Big Three” would win together in the 1980s.
Robert Parish
In addition to his three rings, Parish became a nine-time All-Star and was selected to the All-NBA team twice in his 14-season Celtics career. After a successful stint in Boston, Parish signed with the Charlotte Hornets in 1994. After two uneventful seasons in Charlotte, Parish spent his final season as a backup big man and won his fourth championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1997.
“The Chief” became a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. His jersey number, 00, was eventually retired by the Boston Celtics in 1998. As of January 2024, Parish has played the most NBA games of any player in history, appearing in 1611 total games over 21 seasons.
Kevin McHale
Like Parish, McHale also achieved more beyond his three championships with Boston. Throughout his Celtics tenure, McHale was a seven-time All-Star, one-time All-NBA team selection, six-time All-Defensive team selection, and a two-time Sixth Man of the Year. McHale retired after 13 seasons with the Celtics and had his No. 32 jersey number retired by the team in 1994. Five years later, McHale joined the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Golden State Warriors Aftermath
The Warriors ended the 1980-81 season with a 39-43 record, a big improvement from the year prior. This was also the first of two seasons the team had Hall of Famer Bernard King rostered. The team missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year and wouldn’t return until the 1986-87 season.
Joe Barry Carroll
Carroll had a solid NBA career, playing 11 seasons and making one All-Star team during the 1986-87 season. In his rookie season, Carroll became a selection for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The man nicknamed “Joe Barely Cares” played seven seasons with the Warriors, averaging 20.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. In 1987, the same year the Celtics lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, Golden State traded Carroll to the Houston Rockets. This move came one season after Carroll’s lone All-Star selection. Carroll bounced around the league for the next few seasons before retiring in 1991.
Rickey Brown
Brown only played five seasons in the NBA, averaging 4.4 points per game. The Warriors eventually traded the Mississippi native to the Atlanta Hawks in 1983.
Verdict: Carroll was a very solid big man in the league for quite some time. However, “solid” doesn’t cut it when comparing him to McHale and Parish. The Celtics won this trade in every sense of the word.
More must-reads: