On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise traded point guard Kenny Anderson with shooting guard Joseph Forte and big man Vitaly Potapenko to the Seattle SuperSonics for power forward Vin Baker and combo guard Shammond Williams.
Anderson had himself been dealt to the Celtics in 1998 from the Toronto Raptors with Popeye Jones and Žan Tabak for Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, Roy Rogers, and John Thomas, and had become an important part of the team in the interim. Boston even made it as far as the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals with Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker during the Queens native’s tenure with the team.
Anderson averaged 11.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while with the Celtics.
Forte had been drafted by Boston with the 21st overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft and had played just one season for the team before being dealt.
Potapenko had been traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers to Boston for Andrew DeClercq and draft assets in 1999, playing four seasons with the team as an important part of the frontcourt rotation.
The Ukraine Train — as Potapenko was often called — logged 7.5 points and 5.8 boards while with the Celtics.
It is also the date former Celtics reserve point guard Phil Pressey signed with the team in 2013.
Pressey would play two seasons with Boston, recording 3.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while in the green and white.
It was also on this date in 1983 that the Celtics waived point guard Nate “Tiny” Archibald.
Archibald had come to the team as part of a seven-player deal with the Buffalo Braves made when the franchise owners traded ownership of each other’s teams in 1978 and won a ring with the Celtics in 1981.
Archibald played five seasons with Boston, averaging 12.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists over that stretch.
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