Phil, the Pearl, and Archie

[In October 1971, Earl Monroe entered his fifth NBA season with the Baltimore Bullets. He wanted out of Baltimore in the worst way. Over the next few days, I'll post cut material from my recently published book, Shake and Bake, that chronicles one of the testiest trades in NBA history. Here's part 1.]

Baltimore, October 20, 1971—Earl Monroe popped open t…