1988 NBA DRAFT : Clippers Are Working Deal to Get No. 3

The Clippers, who already have the luxury of making Danny Manning the No. 1 choice in today’s National Basketball Assn. draft, have engineered a three-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and Seattle SuperSonics that, barring last-minute complications, will net them the third pick in the first round but will cost them Michael Cage, the league’s leading rebounder last season.

With that choice, the Clippers are expected to select Charles Smith, a 6-foot 10-inch power forward from the University of Pittsburgh who was named Big East Player of the Year after averaging 18.9 points a game and 7.7 rebounds a game. Smith was Pitt’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.

Under the terms of the trade confirmed by a team source Monday night, the Clippers will send Cage to the SuperSonics, who in turn will trade one of its three No. 1 draft choices in 1989 to Philadelphia. The 76ers then will flip-flop positions in the draft with the Clippers, giving up their No. 3 spot for the Clippers’ No. 6 spot.

The deal is contingent on one of three guards still being available when the 76ers select: Mitch Richmond of Kansas State, Hersey Hawkins of Bradley, or Rex Chapman of Kentucky. Richmond apparently is the prize sought by the 76ers.

Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor, asked about the trade Monday night, said he had no comment. But another source confirmed the accuracy of the speculation, despite denials in Seattle from SuperSonic president Bob Whitsitt.

Cage averaged 14.5 points and a league-leading 13 rebounds a game last season for the Clippers, but had been openly shopped around since the Clippers won the right to draft Manning in the NBA draft lottery last month.

Part of Coach Gene Shue’s past has a Manning connection, too. The Clipper coach had Manning’s father, Ed, when Shue coached the Baltimore Bullets in the ‘60s.

“Ed had one move--a very good shot from the top of the key,” Shue said. “He liked to go to his left a lot and had a quick first step.”

The Clippers are betting the franchise that Ed’s son--the college player of the year after leading the Jayhawks to a national championship--has a much greater repertoire than his old man.

“There’s never been any question about him being the best player in the nation,” Shue said. “Rebounding was a weakness, but I think he answered the critics.”

The Clippers had entertained any number of suitors inquiring about their other first-round draft choice, the No. 6 pick, the result of a 1986 trade with the Sacramento Kings. Names popping out of the rumor machine included Charles Barkley, Mark Aguirre, Danny Ainge, Waymon Tisdale, Otis Thorpe, even Michael Cooper of the Lakers.

Hawkins, the leading major college scorer in the nation, had been projected to go to the 76ers, but there were indications Monday that Philadelphia preferred Richmond.

Chapman, the Kentucky guard who chose to enter the draft early after his sophomore season, may be the most intriguing pick of the bunch. Marty Blake, director of the NBA’s scouting service--rates the 6-5 Richmond as the better player, one who could help the Clippers immediately--but says that given two or three years, Chapman will come into his own.

The Lakers have the last pick in the first round--No. 25, because the two new expansion teams, Miami and Charlotte, also will be selecting. Last season, the Lakers didn’t have a pick in the first round, having given it up to San Antonio in the Mychal Thompson trade.

“Obviously we’d like a huge center, but I don’t think that’s possible,” said Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers’ assistant general manager.

The biggest center available is Rik Smits, the Dunking Dutchman. Smits, who is 7-4 and 250 pounds, was born in the Netherlands and played for Marist (N.Y.) College after writing the school requesting a scholarship. The Indiana Pacers are expected to take him with the No. 2 pick.

Smits averaged 24.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots and shot 62% as a senior.

The other big men in the draft--Eric Leckner of Wyoming, Rony Seikaly of Syracuse, Will Perdue of Vanderbilt--will be long gone before it is the Lakers’ turn to choose. Tito Horford, the 7-1 Dominican problem child, might still be available, but the Lakers say they’d have no interest in Horford, who chose to leave the University of Miami early.

So, instead, the Lakers may opt for a point guard, of which several quality types should still be available at No. 25. Brian Shaw, the UC Santa Barbara guard who may play the point for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, should be the top local player chosen, but probably won’t be around for the Lakers. Among the guards that may be, however, are Everette Stephens of Purdue, David Rivers of Notre Dame, and Rod Strickland of DePaul.

The draft, as a result of the new collective bargaining agreement, has been streamlined to three rounds this season, two starting next year. The Lakers don’t have a pick in the second or third rounds, having traded them away. Phoenix has six picks--two in the first, three in the second, one in the third.

The Chicago Bulls Monday night traded forward Charles Oakley, who was the second-leading rebounder in the league last season, to the New York Knicks for Bill Cartwright, a 7-1 center.

The teams also will switch positions in the draft, the Bulls getting the Knicks’ 11th choice and New York taking Chicago’s 19th pick.

Another trade appeared to be near completion Monday. Barring salary-cap complications, Sacramento was planning to send guard Reggie Theus to Atlanta for guard Randy Wittman and the Hawks’ No. 18 pick in the first round.

LAKERS, CLIPPERS FIRST-ROUND PICKS

LAKERS

Year Player, School 1960 Jerry West, West Virginia 1961 Wayne Yates, Memphis St. 1962 LeRoy Ellis, St. John’s 1963 Roger Strickland, Jacksonville 1964 Walt Hazzard, UCLA 1965 Gail Goodrich, UCLA 1966 Jerry Chambers, Utah 1967 None 1968 Bill Hewitt, USC 1969 Willie McCarter, Drake Rick Roberson, Cincinnati 1970 Jim McMillian, Columbia 1971 Jim Cleamons, Ohio St. 1972 Travis Grant, Kentucky St. 1973 Kermit Washington, American 1974 Brian Winters, South Carolina 1975 Dave Meyers, UCLA Junior Bridgeman, Louisville 1976 None 1977 Kenny Carr, North Carolina St. Brad Davis, Maryland Norm Nixon, Duquesne 1978 None 1979 Earvin Johnson, Michigan St. Brad Holland, UCLA 1980 None 1981 Mike McGee, Michigan 1982 James Worthy, North Carolina 1983 None 1984 Earl Jones, District of Columbia 1985 A.C. Green, Oregon St. 1986 Ken Barlow, Notre Dame 1987 None

CLIPPERS

Year Player, School 1970 John Hummer, Princeton 1971 Elmore Smith, Kentucky St. 1972 Bob McAdoo, North Carolina 1973 Ernie DiGregorio, Providence 1974 Tom McMillen, Maryland 1975 None 1976 Adrian Dantley, Notre Dame 1977 None 1978 None 1979 None 1980 Michael Brooks, La Salle 1981 Tom Chambers, Utah 1982 Terry Cummings, DePaul 1983 Byron Scott, Arizona St. 1984 Lancaster Gordon, Louisville Michael Cage, San Diego St. 1985 Benoit Benjamin, Creighton 1986 None 1987 Reggie Williams, Georgetown Joe Wolf, North Carolina Ken Norman, Illinois