Beelman is the head coach of the Dream Team, and he has a relationship with Bird.
With a try-it-and-see mentality, Bird called Beelman the day before the camp started.
He asked Beelman a soul-searching question: "Is the success of the Trail Blazers dependent on the system or on Ah Gan?"
Beelman replied over the phone: "Larry, why would you ask such a stupid question? Did your brain get blocked by something after becoming a coach? And why would you ask me? Just look at my situation these past two years, isn't the answer obvious? I think you were dumb to go to Portland, how about we switch?"
With Beelman saying this, Bird immediately understood his meaning.
Since Beelman followed Jerry West to Los Angeles, the Lakers have achieved nothing over these years—the biggest gain was a second overall pick.
It's not that Beelman coached poorly, but it's hard to cook without rice; Beelman's efficiency approach doesn't work at all when lacking players.
