Today in Celtics history: Dino Radja waived, Chris Mihm born

Today, July 16th is the 20th anniversary of the Boston Celtics waiving guard Dino Radja. 



Dino was waived after a failed physical prevented his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers for Clarence Weatherspoon and Michael Cage, opting instead to sign a lucrative contract with Greek club Panathinaikos AC.


Radja joined the team for the 1993-94 season after being drafted by the Celts with the 40th overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft and two lengthy court battles that delayed him joining the team . The big man averaged 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in his four seasons with the team, and continued on playing overseas until the end of the 2002-03 season. Said Radja of his exit from Boston (per Mike Carey and Michael McClellan in the book "Boston Celtics: Where Have You Gone?"):

"I went to Pitino and asked him if I fit into his plans. With a new coach, I obviously wanted to know what he thought of my game. I loved playing for Boston and just wanted to find out if there was any possibility I might be traded, because I had heard some rumours. Pitino looked me right in the eyes and said, 'Dino, don't worry. You're going to be a big part of our offense. When we run a set play, the ball is going to go through you.' I left the meeting feeling great. Five days later, I found out I was being traded to Philadelphia. I can't tell you how much I felt betrayed. Either Pitino lied or something changed in a matter of a few days."

Today is also the 38th birthday of former Celtic big Chris Mihm, who played just 54 games for Boston  in the 2003-04 season after being traded to the team by the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Ricky Davis, Michael Stewart and a second-round pick for Tony Battie, Kedrick Brown and Eric Williams. Mihm played behind Mark Blount in the rotation, and averaged 6.1 points, 5.1 boards and .8 blocks per game before being traded with Chucky Atkins and Jumaine Jones to the Los Angeles Lakers for Rick Fox, Gary Payton and a 2006 first round pick that would be used to select Rajon Rondo.


For more stories about the offseason on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.



Image: NBA.com
Video: Basketball
Data: Basketball-reference.com
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