The Seattle SuperSonics have never gone to greater lengths to acquire a player than they did for Spencer Haywood. By merely signing the star forward to a contract in late December 1970, the Sonics and owner Sam Schulman entangled themselves in an expensive legal battle, were ostracized by the rest of the league and threatened by NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy with penalties potentially as severe as expulsion from the NBA.
The first problem was that Haywood was still under contract to the Denver Rockets of the ABA, who had signed him early out of the University of Detroit. Haywood had signed a six-year contract reported as worth $1.9 million, but realized after his first season in Denver - one that saw him earn ABA Rookie of the Year and MVP honors - that the exorbitant figure was something of a myth. Most of the $1.9 million was to be paid to Haywood well after his career as projected returns from the team's investment in a non-guaranteed annuity, but as a financially-naïve 20-year-old, the numbers were enticing to Haywood.
With the help of a new agent, Al Ross, Haywood decided to challenge the contract, potentially making him a free agent. Complicating matters, Haywood was ineligible for the NBA, as his college class would not graduate until the end of the 1970-71 season. Still, at least nine NBA teams and several more in the ABA expressed interest before Haywood decided on Seattle.
The Sonics and Haywood Made History
02-26-2007, 12:12 AM
Re: Sonics' Spencer Haywood 
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