One of the first executives to consider -- when preparing for the draft -- team chemistry and a player's psychological makeup in addition to his physical talents, [Stu Inman] picked Bill Walton, Geoff Petrie, Larry Steele, Lloyd Neal, Lionel Hollins, Bobby Gross, Wally Walker and Johnny Davis. He helped sign Dave Twardzik after the American Basketball Assn. folded and selected Maurice Lucas in the ABA dispersal draft of 1976.

Not all of Inman's decisions were winners. In the 1984 NBA draft, he selected Sam Bowie of Kentucky with the second pick, leaving Michael Jordan of North Carolina to the Chicago Bulls at No. 3. (Hakeem Olajuwon was the No. 1 pick of the Houston Rockets.) Bowie was hindered by injuries over his 11-year career, while Jordan went on to become one of the NBA's greatest players.