5 most memorable moments of the 2016-17 NBA season

2. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird exchange trade calls

Though short on actual player motion or high-profile transactions, the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline was rife with intrigue. It was more talk than walk, however; the two biggest names on the market stayed put.

Jimmy Butler stayed with the Chicago Bulls after talks with the Boston Celtics stalled and his team made a late-season playoff push. The Indiana Pacers were at a similar crossroads with Paul George, but their situation involved a surprise third team. George made known his desire to end up with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers as talks devolved between the Pacers and George’s suitors. So strongly, in fact, that L.A. even went so far as to initiate trade talks in February, ahead of George’s possible 2018 free agency.

A short time before, Lakers legend and Los Angeles power broker Magic Johnson had taken over an advisory role with the team while also making known his desire for a greater role. His impact increased through early 2017 until around the deadline, when momentum began to build for the ousting of longtime braintrust Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak in favor of Johnson. He would eventually take over the position of President of Basketball Operations in Laker Land, but combining these two timelines, we can infer that Johnson was probably on the phone with longtime rival and fellow Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who serves in the same role for the Pacers.

Johnson helped engineer the trade of Lou Williams to the Rockets, according to several reporters. So it’s reasonable to believe he had a hand in the Paul George talks, considering the magnitude of a decision like that. If the Lakers wanted Johnson in power, he would have had a line in that phone conversation. Across from him would have been his old enemy, in a bizarre triangle of fate.

Take a moment and appreciate how great the NBA is that a wackadoo Lakers storyline could end with the most famous rivals in the history of American professional sports speaking to one another on the phone about a potential trade — 30 years after they did battle on the court.

There appears no end in sight for this breathtaking coincidence, with both teams inclined to re-engage over the summer. George still appears set on Los Angeles and the Pacers have fallen off slightly in the second half of the season. The table is set for the superstar wing’s return home. All that remains in the way is a standoff between these two legends.