The Storyteller

I have listened to a few books-on-tape recently, and one I enjoyed immensely was John Feinstein's collection of Red Auerbach's tales: Let Me Tell You A Story. As a kid, I watched a lot of Boston Celtic basketball, and Auerbach, the cigar-smoking coach and President of the operation, was already an icon. I watched a great deal more Celtic's basketball after Boston drafted Larry Bird, from Indiana State, and the franchise took another dramatic leap forward.

This book has a great many stories that are not just basketball tales . . . some are personal stories of family, friendship, and heroism.

On Larry Bird, Auerbach does tell this little snippet about meeting with Bird and his agent. Evidently, Bird arrived with his agent in Auerbach's office and laid out a number of stipulations that, supposedly, Bird wanted to include in his rookie contract. Auerbach was offering Bird $500,000 per year, the highest rookie contract in NBA history, but Bird also wanted the Celtics to give him a new car, a downpayment on a house, airfare to fly his mother from French Lick to Boston any time she wanted to watch a game, and a large bonus if Larry Bird made the NBA all-rookie team.

Auerbach thought about these stipulations and then turned to speak to Bird (not his agent). "Look, Larry," he said, "I'm a straight shooter. I don't make deals like this. Here's the thing. I'm giving you the largest rookie contract in NBA history. But I'm not a car dealer, I'm not a real estate agent, and with the money you are going to be making, you can afford to fly your mother to Boston for every game. And as for making the all-rookie team, hell, I expect you to make the team! You'd better be the best rookie in the league with a contract like this!"

Bird didn't even try to negotiate. He just nodded to his agent as if to say, "Red's right. Let's sign the damn thing!"

The rest is history.