The Buffalo Braves wasted little time in preparing to move. They had to give notice that they had not sold the required 4,500 season tickets in order to keep their lease with the City of Buffalo in force, and on May 8 they did that. Team president Norm Sonju said the decision had not been made to move the team, although he didn’t expect many to believe that. On that same day, Buffalo allowed Cotton Fitzsimmons to escape the remaining three years of his contract so that he could take over the Kansas City Kings.
Sonju actually was telling the truth, as John Y. Brown hadn’t made a final decision about the Braves. Sonju said Brown was under pressure to move the team back to Louisville, while co-owner Harry Mangurian preferred Miami. Long Island, San Diego, Dallas, Birmingham and Minneapolis were all said to be on a list. But Florida didn’t have an arena, while Dallas and Louisville’s characteristics scared Brown. Birmingham was a bit small, a factor when considering television markets, but it did have a nice, big arena waiting.
Sonju conducted a study of the situation. On May 31, Sonju announced the decision: the Braves would move to Dallas to become the Dallas Express. That decision turned out to be less-than-permanent as problems developed. Brown asked for a 20-day postponement in his proposal to move the team, and decided against Dallas during that time. On June 22, Brown said that San Diego and Minneapolis were the two finalists, but those cities weren’t ideal either. Could Buffalo keep its team by inertia?
No. A week later, the drama was finally completed in a totally unexpected way. Brown moved the team to Boston, so to speak.
Brown swapped franchises with Irving Levin, the owner of the Celtics. Levin took his team to San Diego, while Brown took over the Celtics. It could be argued, then, that it was the Braves’ franchise that actually signed Larry Bird and won championships in the 1980’s.
The teams also worked out a huge trade as part of the ownership swap. Boston acquired Nate Archibald, Billy Knight, and Marvin Barnes. San Diego acquired Freeman Williams, Kevin Kunnert, Sidney Wicks and Kermit Washington. The Celtics retained the draft rights to Bird; he had been taken earlier in the summer even though he wasn’t leaving Indiana State until the following spring. On July 7, the NBA approved the transaction, which was brokered by an attorney named David Stern.
"I think the key was that Irv and I laid out the foundation in good faith for the deal. We had a handshake on it," Brown said. "We didn't let the lawyers and accountants change the deal. I found Irv very good to deal with, very honorable.
"I appreciate all the courtesies that all the cities gave us. I didn't want to pit one city against another. There are so many elements that go into trying to pick a city for the long-term future. I think Buffalo is a great sports town. ... There were a lot of problems before I got there. You have to make decisions in life, and if there's any embarassment on any of these cities I didn't intend it."
Brown didn’t change his ways in Boston. He gave up three first-round draft picks and center Tom Barker for McAdoo, almost driving Celtics’ legendary executive Red Auerbach to the New York Knicks. Brown left the Celtics for Mangurian after a year, became Governor of Kentucky, married and divorced former Miss America and broadcaster Phyllis George, and went back into the restaurant business. Western New Yorkers still are angry at Brown; it’s surprising they ever sit foot in a Kenny Rogers’ Roasters or a Roadhouse Grill. Sonju didn't go with Brown; he put together a group that was granted an expansion franchise in Dallas in 1980.
