Celtics Acquire Wedman

January 15, 1983

Celtics Acquire Wedman

Rumors of an impending trade swept the Garden last night after coach Bill Fitch confirmed that a deal that had been in the works for several days was near completion.

After the game, the Celtics announced that they had traded little-used rookie Darren Tillis and Boston's No. 1 draft pick in 1983 to the Cleveland Cavaliers for veteran forward Scott Wednam. The Celtics will also pay Cleveland an undisclosed amount of cash to make up for a good hunk of Wedman's salary.

Wedman, who is in the second year of a five-year contract worth an estimated $700,000 annually, is averaging 18.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The 30-year-old shooting forward scored his 10,000th career point on Dec. 16 against Atlanta.

Cleveland sources said last night that the Cavaliers are about to be sold, and management was trying to trim its payroll in an effort to attract potential buyers.

Before the game, a source said the deal might be a swap of rookies, with Tillis going to Cleveland for former Boston College star John Bagley. The hangup, apparently, was that Cleveland was demanding more for Wedman, possibly veteran Nate Archibald or guard Gerry Henderson.

"If it was up to us," said Fitch, "the deal could have been completed several days ago. But you never know when you deal with somebody else."

The 6-foot-7 Wedman is a multiple-talent forward in the John Havlicek mold, who starred at Kansas City before becoming a free agent and signing with the Cavaliers.

Boston was minus two players last night when it went out to face the New Jersey Nets. Center Rick Robey is still bothered by a back problem. He dressed but was not expected to play. Guard Charles Bradley did not dress because of an ankle sprain. There was immediate speculation that he would also be included in any possible deal, but the Celtics usually don't trade injured players, and thus he was thought to be safe for the moment.

The 93d consecutive sellout Wednesday night against Golden State was a franchise record. The Celtics have the second best road record in the NBA and fourth at home. The Celtics will be on the road again tonight, facing Cleveland at 7:30.