He did this because he believed that there were only three times when a player had any real leverage in the sport. The first was when he first came in the league, and he, Maurice Lucas, had blown that. Second, when a player became a free agent, and he had blown that too, signing at the beginning such a long contract that the only way he could get a commensurate NBA salary was to extend the contract even further, which made his free agency a distant question. And third, when a player was traded and a new team was anxious to keep him happy and thus meet his demands.
