“If it had involved money,” the spokesman said, “we'd have been in better shape. But we didn't have a 7‐foot center, or two young draft picks like Meyers and Bridgeman. We're disappointed.”

According to one source, however, the Knicks could have had Abdul‐Jabbar for $4‐million in cash, with no other players involved. The reason the deal fell through, the source said, was that the Knicks already were “locked” to the big cash deal for George McGinnis, the American Basketball Association's leading scorer.

McGinnis, a 6‐foot‐8‐inch forward for the Indiana Pacers, received a $2.4‐million contract from New York. Since then, though, the league has ruled that Philadelphia holds the N.B.A. draft rights to McGinnis.

Mike Burke, president of the Knicks, took exception to Abdul‐Jabbar's remark that the Knicks didn't make a sincere effort to acquire the N.B.A.'s most valuable player in three of his six seasons, a 30.4‐point scorer.

“General Manager Eddie Donovan and I went to Milwaukee and spoke to Bill Alverson [the Bucks' president] and Wayne Embry [general manager] and we made an offer of over a $1‐million plus players and draft choices,” Burke said.

“However,” he added, “Alverson and Embry would not be specific in the talks and would only discuss in general what they wanted. Donovan pursued the matter as late as Sunday night with Embry.”

“We'd still like to have Kareem,” Burke said.

Abdul‐Jabbar had a year to go on his Milwaukee contract, plus a one‐year option. Had he played out those two years, he would have become a free agent with no obligations to Milwaukee.