Parish to New Ownership: Pay Me or Trade Me

Summer 1983

I'm very happy here. One of the big factors in my signing here was the closeness with my teammates . . . I'm very happy the way things have worked out.

--Robert Parish, April 9, 1981

How can you pay a nonstarter more than a starter? It's an insult to me . It was a good contract - at that particular time. But it no longer is.

-- Robert Parish, Sept. 26, 1981

The season of healing and harmony is off to a bad start. Celtics center Robert Parish wants either more money or a trade before the start of training camp Friday,and says he will sit out unless the Celtics accommodate him. "They have a choice in this," Parish said yesterday. "They can discuss it with me or trade me. If nothing is done, I will stay out of camp. Period."

Parish, who has three years remaining on a contract that pays him $650,000 per year, said he became upset after Celtics reserve center/forward Kevin McHale signed a four-year, $4-million contract in July. "How can you pay a nonstarter more than a starter?," said Parish. "It's an insult to me. There's no lack of respect for Kevin. I'm happy for him, but I feel I should be compensated also."

Retorted Celtics general manager Red Auerbach: "His contract wasn't an insult when he was making more than (Larry) Bird. Players always only look at the high side. When he signed that, he had a better contract than (Artis) Gilmore and all those guys. He's got no beef." The Celtics have a long history of refusal to renegotiate contracts. "I will extend contracts, but I won't renegotiate," Auerbach said, Alan Cohen, one of the new Celtics owners, said, "Contracts are made to be honored by both sides. I would be confident we would continue a policy of no renegotiations. I intend to follow it."

Cohen was particularly displeased with the timing of Parish's demand. "It's a helluva way to greet a change of ownership," said Cohen. "I find it curious that this arose on the day of league approval for the change of ownership." Transfer of Celtics ownership from Harry Mangurian to Cohen, Don Gaston and Paul Dupee was approved by NBA owners last Friday. That was the same day that the Celtics first learned of Parish's unhappiness.

Jan Volk, the Celtics assistant general manager, said he was called Friday by Parish's agent Bob Keefe, who has since been replaced by Wayne Traynham. "He told me Robert wanted to change the terms of his contract," said Volk. "It has been team policy and will remain team policy not to renegotiate contracts. I told him (Keefe) that, and later he delivered a message from Robert that if we couldn't deal with him, he would want to be traded. This morning (Monday), I got a message that Robert has changed attorneys."

Keefe, now out of the picture, would only say, "I feel that if a contract is binding, that's it." Parish declined to explain why he switched agents, but said, "The only reason we didn't take a serious stand earlier was because of the advice of my present attorney. He told me to wait until the ownership situation was straightened out."

Auerbach has never met Traynham and hasn't talked to Parish about the matter. Volk and Traynham plan to meet this afternoon. It seems unlikely that the Celtics would choose to extend Parish's pact. The 7-foot center is 30 years old and has experienced ankle problems in recent seasons. He had a bone spur removed from his left ankle this summer. Parish will be 33 when his present contract expires.

Parish won't specify what he is asking for but said, "I want to make as much as he (McHale) is making. I won't even get into what other centers are making (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jack Sikma are both in the $1.5 million class, and Moses Malone pulls down $2.3 million per year*, but a happy medium would be nice. "If they refuse to upgrade my contract, I want to be traded. That's the only demand I'm making. I'm aware that this won't be a popular stand, but this is strictly business. You've got look at it from a business standpoint."