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The Philadelphia Inquirer Sports
Saturday, June 21, 1997
Radja: A full-size pickup
Sixers land Celtics big man
[INLINE]
By Raad Cawthon
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The 76ers, looking for increased physical size and roster flexibility,
yesterday made their first trade ever with Boston, sending former
first-round pick Clarence Weatherspoon and journeyman Michael Cage to
the Celtics for power forward/center Dino Radja.
Radja, 30, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound veteran, appeared in 25 games for
Boston last season before undergoing arthroscopic surgery in January
to repair a patella tendon in his left knee.
In the 1995-96 season, Radja, who was drafted by Boston with the 40th
pick in 1989, led the Celtics in scoring (19.7 points per game),
rebounds (9.8), minutes (37.4) and blocks (1.43). In four seasons in
Boston, Radja has averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Weatherspoon, 26, played in all 82 games for the Sixers last season.
In his six years with the team, he averaged 12.2 points and 8.3
rebounds while earning a reputation as one of the league's
hardest-working players. At 6-6, he is considered undersized as a
forward.
Cage, 35, spent only one season with the 76ers, and his usefulness was
limited. He averaged 1.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in Philadelphia.
``We think Dino is a versatile center and power forward,'' said Billy
King, the Sixers' new vice president of basketball administration.
``We are trying to get bigger, and Dino is bigger.''
In making his first trade, King, who came to the Sixers two weeks ago,
surpassed the record of former general manager Brad Greenberg who was
fired at season's end after spending 11 months at the helm of the
franchise and not making a single trade.
``I was a little nervous about it,'' King said of pulling the trigger
for the first time. ``You make a trade and hope it works. But I think
it's a great day for the Philadelphia 76ers.''
Sixers coach Larry Brown agreed, saying he envisions Radja playing
center and power forward, though he is more suited for the latter.
``Now I don't have to listen to the argument that we need to get
bigger,'' he said. ``I don't look at this in the short term. He's a
young guy. . . . We've got to look to the future. I want us to go for
the long haul.''
The deal, contingent on all the players passing physicals with their
new teams, brings the Sixers a player who has three years remaining on
his contract. It also gives them insurance at power forward, the
position nominally granted to the problematic Derrick Coleman, if
Coleman should be traded or if the Sixers experience difficulties with
him during the season.
Brown said Radja's knee was ``a bit of a concern right now.''
That concern grows out of Radja's failure to return to the lineup
despite the relatively minor nature of the surgery. But sources in
Boston said it was less a question of health than of Radja being held
out as another ploy to help Boston lose as many games as possible in
their race for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. The strategy backfired
when San Antonio came up with this year's first pick. The Celtics will
pick third on Wednesday, after the Sixers.
A source with the Celtics said that Radja's knee is fine and that his
trade is more of an effort to free up contract money after next season
than anything. According to Brown, the Celtics' team doctor, Arnold
Scheller, said Radja had been playing tennis with him earlier in the
week.
Radja could not be reached for comment, and the Sixers said they had
not spoken with him.
Boston coach Rick Pitino said the trade gives him roster flexibility
because Weatherspoon has one year left on his contract and the Celtics
can buy out the second year of Cage's deal.
Pitino said Radja was in excellent shape and a very good low-post
scorer, but didn't fit into the up-tempo, pressing style he plans to
implement.
In Weatherspoon the Sixers lose a popular player who came to the team
with the ninth pick in 1992. Besides being small for his position,
Weatherspoon does not have the speed to play small forward either. He
was destined to be a misfit on a Brown-coached Sixer team that intends
to push the ball to take advantage of the speed of guards Allen
Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse.
``I was shocked at first,'' said Weatherspoon of the trade. ``But this
is a business, and you have to look at it as a business. I also have
to look at it as an opportunity. Boston is trying to deal with young
talent. I have a chance to start over with a new regime.''
Cage came to the Sixers last season as a free agent. He has two more
seasons on his contract, one of which is guaranteed. In effect, Cage
was combined with Weatherspoon so that their salaries would match
closely the $5.3 million earned by Radja.
[INLINE]
This story also contains information from the Associated Press.
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Philadelphia Online -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sports -- Copyright
Saturday, June 21, 1997