Henderson Dealt for Pick; Ainge Now the Man

October 17, 1984

CELTS TRADE HENDERSON TO SONICS FOR DRAFT PICK

In a surprise move, the NBA champion Boston Celtics yesterday traded guard Gerald Henderson, whom they re-signed just last week, to the Seattle SuperSonics for a first-round 1986 draft choice.



Henderson, 28, had signed a contract on Friday after he held out for more money. He played five seasons with the Celtics and was on their 1981 and 1984 championship teams.

He was influential in the team's rally over the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of the championship series last spring. He stole the ball on a Lakers inbounds pass with seconds remaining to help his team to victory.

If the Lakers' lead had held, Boston would have gone down by 0-2 in the series.

"Henderson has been a very fine contributor to the Celtics' success over the past five years," Celtics general manager Jan Volk said. "In most trades, you must give something to get something, and with the surplus of talent at our guard position, this trade gives us the opportunity to project our needs for the future."

Henderson has an average of 8.8 points per game in the NBA, but he won the hearts of Celtics fans with his 12.5 average in the playoffs last year and his flashy style of play.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard was selected in the third round of the 1978 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, and he was cut in training camp that year. In 1979, he was acquired by Boston as a free agent, and he went on to play 400 games with the Celtics. Included in that streak were 377 consecutive games.

Remaining in the Boston backcourt are Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Quinn Buckner, Carlos Clark and rookie Rick Carlisle. Scott Wedman and M. L. Carr have been used at both guard and forward.

Henderson and forward Cedric Maxwell, who both excelled in the playoffs last year, had angered Volk and Celtics president Red Auerbach with exhibition-season holdouts. Maxwell has not yet signed with the club.

But last night, Henderson said he didn't believe he was traded because of the holdout.

"Whatever happened was a business move," he said, adding that he would report to Seattle.