(ADDING INFORMATION)

*Celtics elect not to proceed with Radja dispute*
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The Boston Celtics have elected not to pursue their appeal over
the Dino Radja trade, which was nullified by the Philadelphia
76ers when Radja failed a physical. 

The Celtics traded Radja to the Sixers last Friday in exchange
for forward Clarence Weatherspoon and center Michael Cage.  But
Radja, who didn't want to join the Sixers, balked at reporting
and then failed a physical on Tuesday. Philadelphia proceeded to
nullify the trade. 

But the Celtics believe that Radja was healthy enough to pass
the physical and asked the NBA to settle the matter.  The NBA
was to hold a hearing Friday in New York to settle the Radja
dispute, but the Celtics have apparently rescinded their appeal
and issued the following statement. 

"We will not contest Philadelphia's decision not to proceed with
the trade for Dino Radja.  We believe Philadelphia negotiated in
good faith and they have now expressed doubts about Radja's
physical condition.  We plan to continue Dino's rehabilitation
program and will continue to explore all avenues to benefit the
Boston Celtics." 

This clears the way for the proposed blockbuster trade between
the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. According to
unidentified sources close to one of the teams, the 76ers will
send forward Keith Van Horn, the second overall pick in
Wednesday's NBA Draft, guard Lucious Harris forward Don MacLean
and a player to be named -- most likely Cage -- to the Nets for
guard Jim Jackson and center Eric Montross and two picks from
the draft -- forward Tim Thomas, the seventh overall pick, and
guard Anthony Parker, the 21st overall selection. 

But since Cage was a part of the Radja trade, he could not be
traded again until the NBA ruled on the Celtics-Sixers deal.
That prohibited the Nets and Sixers from confirming their
blockbuster trade. 

"We were told very sternly not to make any comment," said Nets
coach John Calipari. 

Radja missed 57 games last season because of a knee injury,
which was the focus of the physical examination. 

It was the first trade officially voided since the 1995 deal
between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors that was
negated when center Victor Alexander failed a physical. 

The 6-11 Radja has three years left on his current deal worth
$16 million.  In 25 games last season, he averaged 14 points and
8.4 rebounds for Boston, which finished with a franchise-worst
15-67 record. 

Radja was a 1989 second-round draft pick by Boston, but remained
in Europe until 1993, when he earned second-team All-Rookie
honors by averaging 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds in 80 games.
The native of Croatia enjoyed his best season in 1995-96 when he
averaged 19.7 points and 9.8 boards in 53 contests. 

Weatherspoon, a 1992 first-round draft pick, started all 82
games for the Sixers last year, but averaged a career-low 12.2
points with 8.3 rebounds per game.  The 6-6 small forward also
played in all 82 contests in each of his first two seasons, and
averaged career highs of 18.3 points and 10.1 rebounds in
1993-94. 

The 35-year-old Cage has played for the Los Angeles Clippers,
Seattle, Cleveland and Philadelphia in his 13-year career. Cage
also appeared in all 82 games in 1996-97, averaging 1.8 points
and 3.9 rebounds, and has played in 657 straight games, which is
the second-longest active streak in the NBA.