1988 NBA DRAFT : Clippers Choose Manning, Then Play for Position : They Trade Cage, End Up With Smith and Grant

The Clippers, the biggest losers in the National Basketball Assn. the last two seasons, were the big winners in Tuesday’s college draft, acquiring three first-round picks for the second straight season--forwards Danny Manning of Kansas and Charles Smith of Pittsburgh, and guard Gary Grant of Michigan.

“Christmas is definitely here,” said Clipper Coach Gene Shue. “This was a sensational day.”

Said Elgin Baylor, Clipper general manager: “I think this is probably the best draft any team has ever come up with in history. We were able to get three All-Americans. It’s like getting six players because they all play two positions.”

The Clippers, who won the NBA draft lottery last month to assure themselves of the right to select Manning first, engineered a major trade with the Seattle SuperSonics and the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night, improving their picking position in the first round. That, however, cost them forward Michael Cage, the NBA’s rebounding leader.

The 76ers sent Smith, the No. 3 pick, to the Clippers for the rights to guard Hersey Hawkins of Bradley, the sixth player selected. The Clippers traded Cage to Seattle for the rights to Grant, the 15th player selected. Philadelphia also received a first-round draft pick next year from Seattle, which had stockpiled three.

“That’s the trade, there’ll be a test on it in five minutes,” NBA Commissioner David J. Stern said in announcing the complex three-team deal at draft headquarters in New York.

The Clippers are hoping that the deal will turn around a team that has won just 29 games in the last two seasons. Initial fan reaction to the trade, however, was negative. There were boos from Clipper fans in the crowd of more than 1,000 at the Sports Arena when the trade was announced.

“I was sad at first because I thought they did a grave injustice to the fans who cheered me on in my last game,” said Cage, who grabbed 30 rebounds in the final game of the 1987-88 season to win the NBA rebounding title.

“I was shocked,” Cage continued. “The logic behind it is that there is no logic. I said, ‘What did I do to the team to deserve this?’ I’m off the deep end,” Cage said. “It didn’t make sense to me, but I understand it. Business is business. It makes me wonder what (the Clippers) are trying to accomplish. Are they going to rebuild, or are they going for draft picks?

“I’m glad that’s ended. It seemed like a bad dream. It’s been one thing after another. I’m just glad that it’s over. I don’t feel like I’ll be laboring in obscurity in Seattle.”

Although there was speculation that the deal was contingent on three guards being available--Mitch Richmond of Kansas State, Rex Chapman of Kentucky and Hawkins--the 76ers said Hawkins was the player they were after all along.

And everything fell into place when the Golden State Warriors, who had threatened to blow apart the trade by drafting Hawkins, picked Richmond fifth, after the selections of 7-foot 4-inch center Rik Smits of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., by Indiana, Smith by Philadelphia and 6-8 Auburn forward Chris Morris by New Jersey.

“It was like a high-stakes poker game, that’s what it was,” John Nash, the 76ers general manager, told reporters in Philadelphia. “Since Day 1, Hersey Hawkins was the player we coveted. We felt like we drafted the best player. If we didn’t have any other deal pending, we would have drafted him.”

Said Philadelphia Coach Jim Lynam, a former Clipper coach: “We couldn’t have written this script any better.”

Clipper President Alan Rothenberg said it was one of the most complex deals in which he has been involved. The Clippers kept a phone line open with the 76er and SuperSonic officials until the trade was worked out.

“I negotiated the Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) trade to the Lakers from Milwaukee and the (Gail) Goodrich signing with New Orleans, which resulted in the pick which brought Magic (Johnson) to the Lakers,” Rothenberg said. “Obviously, those deals had a hell of a lot of impact. Hopefully, this one will have equal impact.

“Technically, it wasn’t official until the 15th player was selected. If Grant wasn’t available, we would have gotten added consideration. But we got exactly what we were hoping for.”

The Clippers said that Cage, a four-year veteran, isn’t suited for the up-tempo offense that Shue plans to install.

“You hate to lose a player like Michael Cage, but we are building a team around speed and quickness,” Shue said. “Michael did a great job for us last year. It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Michael.

“Elgin did an incredible job of engineering the trade. We ended up with Smith and Grant, who fit into our style.”

The loss of Cage, however, will hurt the Clippers’ rebounding. Neither Manning nor Smith is regarded as a premier rebounder.

“We’ll spend lots of time on rebounding,” Shue said.

Said Baylor: “Last year we got rebounding and we still lost. I think Danny and Charles are better rebounders than people think.

“I think we needed better talent. We knew things had to change,” added Baylor, who last year had selected Reggie Williams of Georgetown, Ken Norman of Illinois and Joe Wolf of North Carolina in the first round. “We have a three-year plan and we feel we’re headed in the right direction.”

Smith, a 6-10, 230-pounder who was named Big East player of the year after averaging 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds last season, admits he needs to improve his rebounding.

“I think I might be a better defensive player than Cage, but as far as rebounding I think I’ll have to be groomed into it,” Smith said.

“I’m happy with the trade. I would have been happy staying in Philadelphia. But this is a job. It’s business. I think highly of Danny and Gary. Danny and I are pretty similar players. It’s a great situation. We’re very young and we’re going to be stepping into it. We’ll be able to work it out. We’re definitely a team of the future.”

Smith and Manning, who are both candidates for the U.S. Olympic basketball team, figure to start at forward on the Clippers’ revamped front line along with center Benoit Benjamin.

“I’ve seen Benoit play and I know he can do it,” Smith said. “But I think his intensity is questionable.

“If we can all get motivated, we can change the whole thing around. We can definitely win some more games, but it’s going to take some time and we have to be patient.”

Manning, a 6-10, 230-pounder, averaged 24.8 points and 9 rebounds in leading Kansas to the 1987-88 NCAA title.

“I was surprised by the trade,” Manning said. “I didn’t think something like that would work out.

“I’m going to go out and play as hard as I can and do the best I can. Sure, it will be an adjustment, but I look forward to playing in Los Angeles. The NBA’s the ultimate. You have to go out and play as hard as you can every night.”

Grant, a 6-3, 195-pound guard, averaged 22.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.7 steals last season for Michigan. Grant, however, didn’t take part in any postseason all-star games, and there was speculation that he was bothered by tendinitis in his right knee.

Grant has received a clean bill of health after being examined by the Clippers’ team physicians.

“I’ve got a little tenderness in my right knee, but it’s OK,” Grant said. “I didn’t go to (the NBA draft evaluations camps) so that I could finish my education. I will graduate later this week from Michigan with a degree in communications.”

Some NBA scouts think Grant was inconsistent, but he brushed off the criticism.

“I don’t listen to people who criticize me,” Grant said. “I feel I’m a complete player. I see myself.”

Ron Grinker, Manning’s agent, said that he’ll ask for for a $35-million, 10-year contract.

“It’s my job to play, and my agent’s job to negotiate,” Manning said.

After unloading Cage’s $800,000-a-year contract, the Clippers will have more room under the NBA’s new salary cap, which was increased in the collective bargaining agreement from $6.1 million to about $7 million.

Said Rothenberg: “It’s going to be expensive and there will be some tough moments, but we’ll get it done.”

The Clippers also drafted Tom Garrick, a 6-2 guard from Rhode Island, in the second round, and Rob Lock, a 6-9 swingman from Kentucky, in the third. This was the first year that there were only three rounds. Next year’s draft will consist of just two rounds.

There were two other major trades in Tuesday’s draft.

The New York Knicks sent center Bill Cartwright to the Chicago Bulls for forward Charles Oakley, the NBA’s second-leading rebounder. The Bulls also acquired the Knicks’ first-round pick (11th) and chose center Will Perdue of Vanderbilt.

The Sacramento Kings, who traded away their first-round pick to the Clippers, acquired a first-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guard Reggie Theus. The Kings chose Rick Berry of San Jose State with the 18th pick.

Eleven guards were selected in the first round:. Richmond, Hawkins, Chapman, Grant, Willie Anderson of Georgia, Jeff Grayer of Iowa State, Berry, Rod Strickland and Kevin Edwards of DePaul, Brian Shaw of UC Santa Barbara and David Rivers of Notre Dame, who went to the Lakers.

Shaw averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 assists a game last season, becoming Santa Barbara’s all-time leader in assists in two seasons after transferring from St. Mary’s.

“The simple thing is that they kept him for the Olympics till now, while guys drafted ahead of him were not,” Celtic Red Auerbach said Shaw.

Loyola Marymount’s Corey Gaines was selected by Seattle in the third round.

“I’m real happy they (the SuperSonics) didn’t have a second-round pick, so I am their first guard selected,” said Gaines, who played his first three collegiate seasons at UCLA. “I can run and I can push the ball. It seems like I’d be doing the same job I did here this year. They need guards at Seattle.

“I didn’t sit around the house waiting for the phone to ring, I went over to UCLA to play some basketball. I knew the league had me on a (list) of point guards around the country. I think I was 12th, but before the season I wasn’t even on it.”

Gaines averaged 17.4 points and 8.7 assists per game this season.