1972 Mel Counts TRADE AGREEMENT Philadelphia 76ers + Phoenix Suns SIGNED HOFers

Description

- 1972 “OFFICIAL” NBA” Trade Agreement” DOCUMENT -
- Between the PHILADELPHIA 76ers + PHOENIX SUNS -
- SIGNED by PHILADELPHIA 76ers Donald A. DeJardin -
- SIGNED by PHOENIX SUNS Jerry Colangelo (HOFer 2004) -
- SIGNED by NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy (HOFer 1981) -
VERY RARE, partly-printed
NBA ”Trade Agreement” DOCUMENT
dated
October 10th 1972
between the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix SUNS
, concerning
PLAYER Mel Counts
.  The “
official
” TITLE printed along the top of the form, reads as follows – “
Uniform Agreement for Assignment of a Player’s Contract to or by Club
”.
This document has been
SIGNED
along the
bottom
by BOTH Jerry Colangelo (General Manager), on behalf of the “Phoenix Professional Basketball Club”
– AND –
by Donald A. DeJardin (General Manager), on behalf of the “Philadelphia 76ers”
, agreeing to the terms of the trade as described below.
To the LEFT of Colangelo and DeJardin’s autographs are the signatures of TWO witnesses to the agreement.
Below
the signatures of Colangelo (HOF 2004) and DeJardin,
NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy (HOF 1981) has SIGNED and dated
(October 24th 1972)
the document on behalf of the NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
– acknowledging the LEAGUE’S approval and recording of the trade terms.
TRADE TERMS -
The party of the first part
(Phoenix)
hereby assigns to the party of the second part
(Philadelphia)
the contract of PLAYER Mel Counts “for ,000.00 payable within 30 days from date of this agreement and Milwaukee’s second round pick (owned by Philadelphia) in the 1973 College Draft”
.
MEL COUNTS
was a FIRST round pick in the 1964 NBA draft, taken 7th overall by the Boston Celtics.  He played for the Boston Celtics (1964 – 66), Baltimore Bullets (1966 – 67), Los Angeles Lakers (1967 – 1970), Phoenix Suns (1970 – 72), Philadelphia 76ers (1972), Los Angeles Lakers (1972 – 74), and the New Orleans Jazz (1974 – 76).  Mel Counts was the backup center to Bill Russell on the Boston Celtics 1965 + 1966 Championship teams.  He won a gold medal with the 1964 U.S. Mens OLYMPIC basketball team.
JAMES WALTER KENNEDY
(1912 – 1977)
was the COMMISSIONER of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1963 until 1975.
Kennedy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1981
.
JERRY COLANGELO
is the former owner of the NBA Phoenix Suns, the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League, and the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. Colangelo became the youngest General Manager in professional sports in 1968, as GM of the Phoenix Suns.  In 2005, he was named Director of USA Basketball, the organization that selected the national teams to represent the United States in the 2008 Olympics and 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Colangelo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004
.
DONALD A. DEJARDIN
(1936 – 2011)
graduated from West Point (USMA) in 1958 and was Captain of the basketball team.  Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he served as an artillery officer at several Army posts and eventually received an Air Defense assignment outside Detroit.  After leaving the army, DeJardin worked for Westinghouse in Admiral Rickover’s Naval Nuclear program.  Thereafter
he joined the newly-formed American Basketball Association (ABA), working first as the Head of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Pipers before becoming the General Manager of the ABA’s Houston Mavericks.  In 1970, DeJardin signed a three year contract as the General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA
.  He left the 76ers in search of greater financial security and became Vice President of “Great Western Financial” in California.  Eventually, DeJardin would leave Great Western to become one of the first sports agents in basketball, representing hundreds of NBA players and basketball professionals over the next thirty years.
CONDITION:
document measures about 8 ½ x 9 5/8 inches in size and is in EXCELLENT original condition with bold signatures.   There are two very light horizontal folds and two “file” punch holes along the very top of the document.  There are also several small staple holes in the top left corner, but otherwise NO rips or tears (see scans).
The
signature’s / autographs of “Hall of Famers” J. Walter Kennedy & Jerry Colangelo, as well as that of Donald A. DeJardin, are guaranteed authentic
.   Winning bidder to pay
for shipping, postage & INSURANCE
.   Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
PLEASE READ:
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