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The Philly take on the trade
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[Philadelphia Online] THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Sports
Saturday, June 21, 1997
Trade hinges on a joint
Spoon, Cage to Celts if Radja's OK
[INLINE]
by Phil Jasner
Daily News Sports Writer
The salary-cap math works, but it remains to be seen whether Dino
Radja's surgically repaired left knee works as well.
The first-ever trade between the 76ers and the Boston Celtics was
filled with more intrigue than any basketball game either team has
played recently.
The Sixers yesterday sent 6-6 forward Clarence Weatherspoon and 6-9
forward-center Michael Cage to the Celtics in return for Radja, the
30-year-old, 6-11 forward-center who missed 57 games with injuries
this season and has missed 102 over the last three seasons.
More about that later, but first this grenade lobbed by Celtics coach
Rick Pitino, who said, ``We might not be done with Philadelphia.''
``There are other possibilities they would like to do,'' said Billy
King, the Sixers' vice president of basketball administration. ``I'm
not sure they are things we would like to do.''
Is the Croatian-born Radja ecstatic about the deal? Despondent? Radja
wasn't talking, but a source close to the situation said Radja had
become so concerned about the failure of his knee to respond to
therapy that he had recently visited an orthopedic specialist in New
York.
``His knee is the same as when it was operated on [ to repair a defect
in his patella ] ,'' the source said. ``He is not happy.''
Neither was Pitino after he met with Radja Thursday, telling the
career 16.7 points-per-game scorer and 8.4 rebounder he was involved
in one of four trade scenarios the Celtics were pursuing. Pitino
wanted Radja to remain in Boston to continue his rehabilitation, but
Radja said he would be returning to his homeland of Croatia, coming
back in time for the start of training camp.
``That kind of sealed his fate,'' Pitino said. ``Dino's probably
better off in Philadelphia now. When you win 15 games, everybody
should be going out of their skin to make sure it doesn't happen
again, because it's embarrassing.''
If Radja were unable to pass a Sixers physical examination, the trade
would be voided, unless the teams could agree to alternative
compensation.
``I have my doubts that Dino will pass,'' said Mark Fleisher, Radja's
agent. ``I do not want to comment on the trade, because I suspect it
will not take place.''
Radja also was in no hurry to come to Philadelphia because his wife,
Zeljana, is due to give birth within the next week.
Pitino said he would ``guarantee 100 percent'' that Radja would pass
his physical. Another source said Radja had been interested only in
going to Orlando or Chicago.
Weatherspoon, who had been preparing to play for new Sixers coach
Larry Brown, his fifth coach in six seasons, was somewhat unsure what
to expect from his move to Boston, but was eager to prove his worth.
``I was doing a camp [ in Crawford, Miss. ] when my phone rang,''
Weatherspoon said. ``I was shocked, because I thought Boston would be
going with young talent. But I look at it as a business, and if this
is their decision, that's where I'll go. I've got to go step up to the
challenge.
``I had a pretty good time in Philly, but I thought we'd win more. But
we never had the same team, never had stability. We started over
almost every year.''
Cage, 35, getting ready for his 14th season in the league, was as
philosophical as ever, but sources indicated he had already asked the
Celtics to consider moving him to a team closer to his home in
Arizona.
``This was the most difficult year of my career,'' Cage said. ``We had
young people involved and a lot of instability. At times, I felt alone
saying we had to ride this out. Some of them may have been embarrassed
[ by the 22-victory season ] , but that's foolish. If it's
embarrassing, the challenge of correcting it should be the reward.
``But I'm not ready to hang up my shoes, become a Robert Parish. I'm a
player, I'm not ready to get less active. In '95-96, I had what I
thought was a sensational year with Cleveland, led them in rebounding.
In Philadelphia, everything went cold. All I'll say is, don't judge
people just on statistics.''
At least the math works. Radja earned $5.313 million this season,
although his salary-cap value will rise to $6.1 million in each of the
next three seasons because of a trade bonus clause in his contract.
Weatherspoon, who earned $3.3 million this season, drops to $2.8
million next season on the final leg of his contract. Cage was at
$1.473 million this year, climbing to $1.693 million with a trade
bonus. He is signed through '98-99, although the final season is just
50 percent guaranteed.
The NBA agreement stipulates teams can make trades only if they come
within 15 percent plus $100,000 of their respective values. To make a
deal work, a team can use the value of a contract before or after the
addition of a trade bonus clause.
Let somebody else figure all of that out; Brown simply wanted a bigger
front line, at the same time clearing a roster spot as he looks ahead
to Wednesday night's draft. Brown and King have been working the
phones in search of other deals, although none seems to involve
unhappy -- and very expensive -- forward Derrick Coleman.
Among other things, the Sixers have been talking to the Denver Nuggets
about the possibility of trading positions in the draft, the Sixers
holding No. 2, the Nuggets No. 5. It is believed the Nuggets have been
offering center Ervin Johnson as bait. The Nuggets are said to be hot
for Utah forward Keith Van Horn in the draft, but the Sixers
apparently will not blink until the Nuggets are willing to talk about
forward Antonio McDyess.
``What I have in mind I don't think is going to happen,'' Brown said.
``What they have in mind is never going to happen.''
Brown said he has narrowed his choices for the No. 2 pick to Colorado
guard Chauncey Billups, Texas Tech forward-center Tony Battie and Van
Horn. Which leads to more intrigue, because Van Horn has refused to
visit with the Sixers and has returned to his home in Utah, where he
will remain until heading for the draft in Charlotte.
The Sixers, who interviewed Michigan forward Maurice Taylor yesterday,
also hold three picks in the second round and are mulling the
possibility of using them to obtain another pick in the first round.
Brown said he would also consider using one or two of those
second-rounders to select European players who might not be available
for a year or two -- in effect, stashing future talent.
But the talks with the Celtics had been ongoing for more than two
weeks. When it became clear that the Celtics wanted Weatherspoon, Cage
was included to balance the dollar values.
``Clarence has done a lot for the franchise, and I didn't take that
lightly,'' Brown said. ``The way I looked at it was, Clarence has been
playing out of position here. He's going into the last year of his
contract and we needed size. This was the best option for the team.''
Only, of course, if Radja passes his physical. What's a trade of this
magnitude without a little intrigue?
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Copyright Saturday, June 21, 1997