A Chaotic Year

Before the 1978-79 season, Celtics owner Irv Levin traded his ownership stake with John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian of the Buffalo Braves so that Levin could move the Braves to California, becoming the San Diego Clippers. Brown regularly made player moves and orchestrated a six-player trade with the Clippers without consulting Red Auerbach. The trade soured relations between the two and nearly drove Auerbach out of the organization. Meanwhile on the court, the team struggled under Head Coach Satch Sanders before Dave Cowens stepped in as the last player-coach in NBA history. With everything that unfolded that year, the Celtics finished with their worst record since the team’s first season in the NBA. After the season, Brown sold his portion of the team to his partner Mangurian who offered a measure of stability into the 1980s.