The Big O

From the Davenport Sports Network there is this.

On April 21, 1970 the Cincinnati Royals stunned the basketball world by trading superstar Oscar Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulo. No reasons were officially given to why the Royals made the trade, but many pundits suspected head coach Bob Cousy wanted to trade “The Big-O.” Robertson himself said, “I think he was wrong and I will never forget it." 

The relationship between Oscar and the Royals had soured to the point that Cincinnati had also approached the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks about deals involving their star player (the Knicks players who were discussed in those scenarios are unknown, but Los Angeles stated publicly that the Royals asked about Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, with the Lakers saying they would not consider trading either star). 

The trade to the Bucks proved highly beneficial for Robertson and, after being stuck with an under-performing team the last 6 years, he now was paired with the young Lew Alcindor. With Alcindor in the low post and Robertson (pictured below being given a physical by Dr. Robert Parks LeTellier with Alcindor waiting in the background) running the backcourt, the Bucks charged to a league-best 66–16 record, including a then-record 20-game win streak, a dominating 12–2 record in the playoffs, and crowned their season with the NBA title by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets 4–0 in the 1971 NBA Finals. 

From a historical perspective; however, Robertson's most important contribution was made not on a basketball court, but rather in a court of law. It was the year of the landmark Robertson v. National Basketball Association, an antitrust suit filed by the NBA's Players Association against the league. 

As Robertson was the president of the Players Association, the case bore his name. In this suit, the proposed merger between the NBA and ABA was delayed until 1976, and the college draft as well as the free agency clauses were reformed. Robertson himself stated that the main reason was that clubs basically owned their players: players were forbidden to talk to other clubs once their contract was up, because free agency did not exist until 1988. 

Six years after the suit was filed, the NBA finally reached a settlement, the ABA–NBA merger took place, and the Oscar Robertson suit encouraged signing of more free agents and eventually led to higher salaries for all players.