How Baylor nearly changed the Heat’s course of history

For all the impact Elgin Baylor had on the NBA, from his Hall of Fame playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers to his 22-year career as a Los Angeles Clippers executive, it was a single move that Baylor was not allowed to complete that wholly altered the history of the Miami Heat.

Baylor — who died Monday at age 86 — on Oct. 15, 1993, while serving as Clippers general manager, signed off on a trade that would have sent forward Danny Manning to the Heat for forwards Willie Burton and Glen Rice — as in the same Glen Rice that Pat Riley, Baylor’s former Lakers teammate, would later trade in 1995 for Alonzo Mourning.

Toiling at the time under erratic Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling, Baylor had reached an agreement with then-Heat Managing Partner Lewis Schaffel on the trade. Flights were booked; bags were packed.

Manning was told by his agent that the deal was done. Rice also was informed, and angered. “I don’t think he’s going to be able to help the Heat more than I can,” Rice said amid the Heat’s training camp in Lake Worth. And then ... no deal. Sterling style.

Turns out, the night before the final paperwork was to be submitted to the NBA, Sterling said he had a dream, a vision of impending Clippers glory with Manning.

“Elgin Baylor assured everybody he had authority to make a deal,” Manning’s agent, Ron Grinker, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel at the time.

“It’s unfortunate,” Schaffel said. “I don’t think we should ever get involved with that team again.”

Four months later, Manning was dealt by the Clippers to the Atlanta Hawks for Dominique Wilkins.

Two years after the Rice-Manning deal fell through, Rice was the centerpiece of the

Heat’s trade for Mourning, who immediately would help lift Riley and the Heat deep into postseason contention for the first time in franchise history and eventually to the 2006 NBA championship.

Sterling was forced out as Clippers owner in 2014, after racist recordings surfaced. Manning was reduced to role player by reconstructive surgeries on both knees in 1996, never again an All-Star. Rice would go on to play through 2004, a three-time All-Star after he was dealt by the Heat. Burton was traded by the Heat to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004, out of the NBA a year later, before a brief return thereafter.

Riley on Monday released a statement on Baylor that read, “Besides being one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Elgin Baylor was one of the classiest, most dignified men of integrity I have ever met. He will be missed.”

Vaccines start

While some NBA teams have gotten the majority of their rosters vaccinated against COVID-19, including the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers, the Heat appear to have begun the process on a limited scope.

The team on Monday said, “members of the organization, including some players, have been vaccinated in consultation with their physicians.” ...

Goran Dragic (back spasms) and Avery Bradley (strained right calf ) both are listed as questionable by the Heat for Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dragic missed Sunday’s home loss to the Indiana Pacers, while Bradley has missed the past 22 games with his ailment.

Also, veteran forward Udonis Haslem, who has yet to play this season, remains away from the team in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, due to contact tracing.

KEVIN WINTER/GETTY Elgin Baylor’s career as an NBA executive included a unique moment in time with the Heat.