"Maybe in the old days someone would've mumbled about Shaw's lack of loyalty, but these were the new days, and everyone understood that an athlete did what he could to maximize his earning power. Ten years earlier, after all, a rookie named Kevin McHale had threatened to play in Italy because he didn't like the Celtics' contract offer. And Bird had boycotted media day two years earlier because he was unhappy with his contract.

'Why should I be mad at Brian?' McHale said when asked why there was no animosity directed at Shaw. 'Look, if he made it personal, if he came out and said, 'I'm not playing because I hate Kevin McHale,' then it would be different.'

'Actually, Kevin,' a reporter told him, 'that's exactly what he did say.'

'Where is that cocksucker?' said McHale, bolting out of his seat."
- Jack McCallum, Unfinished Business