Radja Says Club Is Ready to Let Him Be a Celtic

Yugoslavian basketball star Dino Radja said Sunday he was determined to play for the Boston Celtics next season, and that his home club had agreed in principle to let him go.

Radja signed with the Celtics last year for $425,000, but the contract was blocked by a U.S. federal judge, who said Radja had a valid professional commitment with his Yugoslav team Jugoplastika.

“If the Celtics still want me, I’m ready to play for them next season,” Radja said.

The 6-foot-10 center said that even though his Yugoslav contract runs for two more years, “Jugoplastika has in principle agreed to let me go this year.”

Radja denied recent reports in the Yugoslav and Western press that he has offered to continue playing for one more year for Jugoplastika, the European champion, for $400,000.

“Such reports are simply not true,” he said. “In Europe I can get five times the amount given to me by the Celtics, but still I’m determined to join the NBA team. Playing in the NBA represents a challenge for me.”