Adrian Dantley thought he would get a chance to avenge the Detroit Pistons ' loss in the 1988 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the former Notre Dame product was reduced to a spectator role when the Pistons and Lakers rematched during the 1989 NBA Finals.
That's because Dantley, who was the leading scorer on the 1987-88 Pistons team, was traded by the team to the Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre midway through the 1988-89 NBA season.
"I feel like I got screwed in the deal," Dantley said in a TV interview during halftime of Game 3 of the 1989 NBA Finals. "It didn't have anything to do with basketball. It had to do with a lot of politics in the game that probably a lot of people don't know about."
A victim of politics
Dantley was an All-Star when the Jazz traded him to the Pistons after a contract dispute. In Detroit, AD had to deal with fewer shot attempts because the Pistons had the likes of Isiah Thomas , Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson. Despite the reduction, he still averaged 21.5 PPG during the 1986-87 season and 20.0 PPG in 1987-88, both tops on the Bad Boys squad.
But after averaging career lows with 18.4 PPG on 11.8 FGA per game, Dantley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Aguirre. Although the Pistons posted a 31-6 record with their new guy, AD complained he was the victim of politics because Aguirre was a good friend of Thomas.
"Everybody knows who made the deal, who orchestrated the deal," Dantley added. "It's old news. I really try not to go into details about certain things because as of right now, I am with the Dallas Mavericks. I've taken the high road and tried to be low-key about the whole thing. Everybody knows that I should be there playing for the championship."
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Dantley never got close to the championship again
The 1988-89 Pistons secured the NBA's best record at 63-19, earning the top seed in the playoffs. They swept both the Celtics and Bucks in the first two rounds before dropping two games to Michael Jordan's Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to their appearance on the biggest stage.
Then, in the 1989 NBA Finals, the Pistons exacted their revenge against the Lakers, sweeping Magic's Showtime squad 4-0 in the championship series. With Dantley gone, Dumars and Thomas shone in the Finals, combining for 48.6 PPG and 13.6 APG. Aguirre took the backseat and averaged just 7.5 PPG on a total of 33 shots attempted during the entire series.
However, Mark became an NBA champion that season, while Adrian's Mavericks didn't even make the playoffs. Dantley never again came close to competing for the Larry O'Brien trophy, whereas Aguirre secured another title with the Bad Boys the following season.
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