When they arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, they didn’t have a direct line to Oakley, but managed to reach one of his acquaintances, who shared the power forward’s whereabouts. Racing against the clock, Grunwald and Carter found Oakley inside the Atlanta Ritz-Carlton’s fitness center, bench-pressing. In the weight room, Grunwald and Carter pleaded with Oakley to make the trip back to Toronto with them. “He didn’t want to leave the Knicks. And we told him we could fully appreciate and understand why he might not be excited about being traded to us, but that we really needed
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