article about the VP-AD trade

[KK <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

Cavaliers trade Potapenko 

                  Friday, March 12, 1999

                  By MARY SCHMITT BOYER
                  PLAIN DEALER REPORTER

                  PHOENIX - The disappointment came through over the phone lines.

                  "It's terrible, something like this," Vitaly Potapenko said last
                  evening after learning he had been traded from the Cavaliers
                  to the Boston Celtics for Andrew DeClercq and the Cavs' choice
                  of a No. 1 draft choice in either 1999 (unless it's in the top
                  three), 2000 or 2001.

                  "I love my teammates and the organization," he said in a
                  voice choked with emotion. "It happened so fast. I don't know
                  what to say. It's all part of the business. Anyone can get
                  traded. But you never know how it feels until it happens to
                  you."

                  Cavs President Wayne Embry and coach Mike Fratello didn't
                  feel much better about losing the likable, hard-working power
                  forward.

                  "I have great regard for him and wish him the best," Embry
                  said. "We think he can be a very good player in the league. He
                  was a great contributor to our franchise."

                  Said Fratello, "I feel like I'm losing one of my children,
part of
                  our family. I have a very special feeling for "V.' I think his
                  teammates do as well."

                  But, according to Embry, when it became apparent the Cavs
                  couldn't pay Potapenko the kind of salary agent Curtis Polk
                  was after, the team had no choice but to try to get something
                  in return.

                  "That was a factor," Embry said. "We negotiated right up until
                  the deadline trying to get an extension with him. We were still
                  apart. Their feeling was they wanted to test the [free-agent-
                  market after the season. Our feeling was we should try and get
                  something back in return."

                  The Cavs reportedly made an initial offer of a five-year deal
                  worth between $22 million and $23 million. Polk, who has not
                  returned phone calls to The Plain Dealer, reportedly was
                  seeking a deal similar to Jason Caffey's of Golden State - five
                  years, $35 million.

                  Embry said it was more than the Cavs were willing to pay for a
                  backup player. Starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is already
                  signed to the maximum six-year, $70.9 million deal.

                  Starting power forward Shawn Kemp signed a seven-year, $100
                  million deal last season.

                  "Being a reserve has a certain value," Embry said. "Starting on
                  another team - that has a certain value. Those are factors we
                  had to consider."

                  Potapenko, a 6-10, 285-pound forward from the Ukraine who
                  played college basketball at Wright State, was a first-round
                  pick in the 1996 draft, the Cavs' 12th pick overall. He
played in
                  all 17 games this season and made 12 starts when Ilgauskas
                  went out with a broken foot. He was averaging 8.4 points and
                  5.5 rebounds.

                  "It's what we need," Boston President Rick Pitino said. "We
                  have to have a tough, physical banger."

                  The keys to the deal, according to Pitino, were getting the draft
                  pick protected his year and the Celtics' willingness to sign
                  Potapenko to a new deal more to his liking.

                  DeClercq, a 6-10, 230-pound forward/center from the University
                  of Florida originally drafted by Golden State in the second
                  round of the 1995 NBA draft, was in his second season with
                  Boston. He played in 14 games this season, averaging 5.4
                  points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game. He is
                  scheduled to make $1.4 million this season, the same as
                  Potapenko, as part of a five-year, $8.4 million deal that runs
                  through the 2001-02 season.

                  "He can bang," Embry said. "He brings size and some
                  experience. We're anxious to get him here and get him in
                  uniform."

                  DeClercq was scheduled to take a physical in Cleveland today
                  and then join the team in Houston in time for tomorrow night's
                  game against the Rockets.