Rick Barry Discusses Nearly Joining Celtics, Shares His Perspective on Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson

Rick Barry details what led to him almost becoming a Celtic and why it didn't happen.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Barry’s Hall of Fame career is mainly associated with the Golden State Warriors, the franchise that he represented for eight seasons and won an NBA championship with in 1975. A contract dispute, however, led Barry to leave California for a two-year stint with the Houston Rockets.

Barry played his final professional game as a Rocket in 1980, but the 8-time All-Star wasn’t fully set on retirement. Barry told Eric Jay Santos from Inside The Celtics that he nearly prolonged his playing career in Boston.

"I was going to play with the Celtics, but they cut the rosters back from 12 to 11 players. That was what happened there. I was really looking forward to it...I probably could’ve played (for) two (or) three more years. It would’ve been great to go play with the Celtics like so many other players did. Bill Walton did it. Tiny Archibald did it. Look at the guys who went there later in their careers to do it, and I would’ve been able to do that. I would’ve been a backup to (Larry) Bird and played with all those guys. It would’ve been fun."

Barry’s dissatisfaction with the Rockets’ front office caused him to contact the Celtics.

"I reached out to them because I wasn’t happy with what was happening in Houston… I went there to go play with John Lucas and they traded John. I have no idea why the hell Ray Patterson did that, that’s ridiculous. That should’ve been a team with a chance to win a freaking championship. It was the most talented team I’ve ever played on. It was a big misuse of talent."

Though Barry was a top option for the majority of his career, the New Jersey native would’ve accepted a minor role within Boston’s rotation.

"I was willing to accept a secondary role because I just wanted to win. That’s why I went to Houston. To have a chance to go to the Celtics with Bird, (Kevin) McHale, and those guys, hell, I would’ve done that in a freaking heartbeat… It would’ve been really interesting to see some lineups on the court at that time. They could’ve put Bird at power forward, me at small forward, and McHale at the center to give (Robert) Parish a rest. That would’ve been a hell of a basketball team."

Barry credited the NBA’s lack of roster spots and progressing age to his retirement, though he felt he could still contribute.

"When they cut the roster spots, I was 36 years old, so people didn’t want to take me. They saw I was averaging 12, 13 points per game, but I wasn’t shooting that often. In the two years that I was there (Houston), I played the two-guard spot. One game, when Calvin Murphy was sick, I took 24 shots and scored 38 points. I could’ve been a really good addition to the Boston Celtics. That would’ve been interesting. But that’s life. If it was meant to be, it would’ve happened. It wasn’t meant to be, so you move on."

Barry was also asked who the better player was, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.

"I played against Bird and Magic when they were rookies. They’re both great. They’re different positions, so who the hell cares. Everybody tries to compare Bird to Magic. Bird’s a three and Magic’s a point guard. This GOAT stuff is the biggest b******t in the world. There’s no such thing as a GOAT in a team sport. You need to have conversations about positions, and I wish they would stop comparing players from different eras."