Even as he announced the trade that was bringing Dino Radja to the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Larry Brown admitted he was concerned about Radja's injured left knee.
That concern turned out to be justified. Four days after the trade was made, Radja failed his physical with the 76ers, who immediately announced they were calling off the deal."Dino Radja has failed to pass his physical examination conducted by team doctors," 76ers vice president of basketball operations Billy King said in a statement released by the team Tuesday night. "Therefore, per the contingency included in the Philadelphia-Boston trade of June 20, the trade is null and void."
However, both The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald reported that after Radja arrived in Philadelphia, the two teams agreed to extend the deadline for completion of the trade 24 hours - until 5 p.m. today.
The 76ers traded forward Clarence Weatherspoon and center-forward Michael Cage to the Celtics for Radja, a 6-foot-10 center-forward, in the first deal between the teams' new coaches, Brown and Boston's Rick Pitino.
Weatherspoon and Cage passed their physicals in Boston.
Even as the deal was made, Brown expressed concern that Radja's left knee, operated on last January, had not healed sufficiently to allow him to play.
Radja balked at the trade, although his contract does not permit him to refuse it. After consultation with the NBA Players Association, he decided to take the physical, which included an MRI on the injured knee.