The first signal of an inflection point in Sixers history was the ringing telephone in the suburban Philadelphia home of assistant general manager John Nash on Sunday night, Aug. 29, 1982. Harold Katz, the team owner, was on the other end of the line, calling from either Las Vegas or Reno. All these years later, Nash can’t remember which.
What Nash does remember is that Katz, barely a year into his stewardship of the team, was very clear about what he wanted.
He wanted Moses Malone, the NBA’s most-coveted free agent.
Pat Williams, the team’s general manager, was out of the country, so it was left to Nash to arrange a meeting between the Sixers and Malone’s representatives.