WILKINS LANDS IN GREECE

August 13, 1995

WILKINS LANDS IN GREECE

Dominique Wilkins is leaving town. Permanently.

The future Hall of Famer, whose one season as a Celtic was the worst of his NBA career, signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Greek team Panathinaikos yesterday.

According to a team official in Athens, who asked to remain anonymous, Panathinaikos is in the process of filing a letter of clearance with FIBA, the international basketball federation, which is standard procedure whenever a player wants to sign overseas. Under normal conditions, if the American club, in most cases a Continental Basketball Association team, opposes the change of venue for its player, it notifies FIBA.

However, because there is an NBA lockout in effect, the Celtics and the league cannot have any contact with its players. Therefore, FIBA's letter of clearance will likely be met with silence. According to sources, FIBA has a two-week period for a reply. If none is forthcoming, it considers the player free to sign overseas, even though Wilkins has two years remaining on his contract with Boston.

"We are not anticipating any problems," said John Tarkas, who handled negotiations for Wilkins in Greece. "Everybody here is pretty confident. We do not expect the NBA to reply to the letter of clearance. And even if they do, and oppose the Greek contract, they will, in effect, be acknowledging Dominique's contract with Boston. If they do that, then we'll simply sue them for breach of contract, since they did not live up to its stipulations."

Tarkas was referring to a clause in Wilkins' contract that allowed him to take out a loan of up to $8.4 million from the club. When the lockout was imposed, Wilkins was denied the loan. His American-based agent, Steve Kauffman, maintained that the loan should not have been affected by the lockout.

Celtic officials are not allowed to comment on Wilkins, but sources close to the team yesterday said they are unlikely to stand in his way. The Celtics left Wilkins unprotected in the expansion draft last spring and could use the removal of his $8.4 million salary. In many respects, Wilkins' good fortune is also their own.

When the Celtics signed Wilkins two summers ago as a free agent, the front office tabbed it as a "major coup." But Wilkins clashed with coach Chris Ford, averaging just 17.8 points and shooting a career-low 42 percent. The lowlight of his tenure was when he was booed lustily by Garden fans in the midst of a loss to the lowly Clippers.

Asked if Wilkins' unhappiness in Boston was the major component in driving him overseas, Kauffman said, "Not necessarily. On a scale of 1 to 10 of being happy, if 'Nique had been at a 9 or a 10, it might have been more difficult, but even if he was at a 7 or 8, it would have been hard to turn down this opportunity.

"He's going to receive a great deal of money, and he'll have a tremendous impact on Greek basketball and international basketball. He could speed up the growth of international basketball by a few years. Once his friends in the NBA see it worked out well for him, they may follow."

Efforts to reach Wilkins were unsuccessful, but Tarkas said he believes the criticism Wilkins received in Boston had "a lot to do with this decision."

"He was under a lot of pressure there," said Tarkas. "And it seemed as though the fans did not appreciate him.

"Here he will be coming to a new stadium where fans will be excited to watch him play. When he visited here (earlier in the summer), the average fan walked up to him on the street and asked him to come here.

"This is a beautiful place with a nice pace. It also might have something to do with (wife) Nicole's pregnancy. There will be less stress, less pressure here."

Both Kauffman and Tarkas said Wilkins ran into Julius Erving at the airport Friday afternoon and asked him his advice.

"Julius told him it was a good decision," said Tarkas. "I'm sure that helped him feel more comfortable about doing it."

Tarkas would not comment on the conditions of the contract, but sources confirmed the numbers, with a buyout option the third year. Wilkins also has many bonuses built into the deal, including a major reward if he leads Panathinaikos to a European Championship. The team finished third last season.

"That is something that could rejuvenate him," said Tarkas. "Aside from the financial motivation, it is a major honor in Europe."

Kauffman said Wilkins will leave town with no ill feelings toward Boston.

"If there are any guilty feelings, they should be on the part of the Atlanta Hawks," said Kauffman. "No matter how hard Dominique tried to put it behind him, he planned on ending his career in Atlanta, and I'm sure he's never forgiven the Hawks for trading him. I know he feels that way. I still feel that way myself."

Although Wilkins will be playing a far less strenuous schedule, both in terms of travel and number of games, Greek fans are notorious for their unforgiving ways if the team is not successful.

Asked if they understand Wilkins is no longer at the peak of his game, Tarkas answered, "Maybe he used to be one or two steps quicker. Now he might only be a half-step quicker, but that's good enough over here. I'm confident he will be a star."