CELTICS' TRADE WEDMAN

October 18, 1987

CELTICS' TRADE WEDMAN

Now you see 'em, now you don't. Sam Vincent and Scott Wedman took the floor in Houston for the first Celtics exhibition game of the season Friday night, but by halftime, they were removing their uniforms and returning via cab to the hotel.

They had just been informed that their new mailing address was Seattle, USA.

In exchange for these two players, the Celtics obtained either a 1988 or 1989 second-round draft pick (one belonging to New York), plus an undisclosed amount of cash. That doesn't sound like a lot for two men, unless you consider that the old Branch Rickey dictum of "addition by subtraction" was in play here. Specifically, the Celtics unloaded two salaries attached to a pair of players who didn't fit into their plans. What they got in return was almost incidental.

Vincent, the 1985 No. 1 draft pick, never really got off the launching pad in Boston, and he was victimized by a numbers game and his size. "Sam really didn't get a chance to develop here," admitted K.C. Jones. "We have Dennis (Johnson) and Danny (Ainge), and then there was Jerry (Sichting) and Sam. Dennis and Danny can play together, but Jerry and Sam couldn't because they're just too short and give up too much at the defensive end. Now we've got Reggie (Lewis)."

If there were any lingering doubts about anointing the Northeastern kid, they were eliminated in the first half of Friday's game when Lewis bounded off the bench in his first professional action and played smoothly, scoring 9 points in 10 minutes.

"I was surprised," said Vincent. "I hadn't even thought about not being here, or the fact that we had two small guards. I've been having a good camp, and I don't think this trade represents dissatisfaction with my play as much as me being in a numbers game.

"I don't feel I really ever got an opportunity here," he continued, "but I'm not bitter. I'm just a little disappointed, because I really enjoyed playing with these guys. I'm going to miss Larry (Bird) and his antics, Kevin (McHale), DJ and the rest of the team. I loved the feeling of being a part of all that. But now maybe I'm going to a team that needs a point guard, and I hope I can get myself established."

As for Wedman, the 13-year veteran never really got over the devastating effects of the heel injury that restricted him to six games last season. He had lost his backup small forward spot to Darren Daye and represented excess baggage on the current ballclub. He departs Boston with two championship rings, so he would hardly call Boston an unpleasant experience.

"I don't know much about the situation I'm heading into," he said. "I was surprised. But it's kind of funny. I remember going to an exhibition game three years ago and Gerry Henderson didn't play, and I wondered what was going on. Then I learned he was traded to Seattle. Now it's happened to me (indeed, this was the third anniversary of that Henderson maneuver)."

Wedman, 35, hadn't played badly in camp this past week, either, but his time in Boston had passed. "The one thing I want to say," Wedman concluded, "was that I enjoyed playing for K.C. and with these guys. I mean, I really enjoyed it."

The Celtics have now suddenly freed up significant salary money under the cap, dumping $375,000 in Vincent and at least $200,000 in Wedman.