Billy Thompson Goes to Miami; Valentine Winds Up in Cleveland

The Miami Heat chose small forward Billy Thompson from the Lakers and guard Darnell Valentine from the Clippers in Thursday’s National Basketball Assn. expansion draft, then traded Valentine to Cleveland for the Cavaliers’ second-round college draft pick in either 1990 or ’92.

The Charlotte Hornets, meanwhile, made a trade with the Utah Jazz for Kelly Tripucka, the only one of seven former NBA All-Stars available in the draft who changed teams Thursday.

In addition to Thompson, a No. 1 draft choice in 1986 who appeared in just 9 games last season after suffering a knee injury 14 months ago, the Heat also will get a second-round draft choice in 1991 or ’92 from the Lakers, the result of a pre-draft trade in which Miami agreed not to draft center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Laker captain was left off the team’s protected list of eight players so that the Lakers could retain 7-foot backup center Mike Smrek and swingman Tony Campbell.

“(Thompson) is someone we feel has an excellent chance of being an impact player in this league,” said Billy Cunningham, who is a minority owner of the Heat but will have to give up his share of the team because of his ongoing broadcasting affiliation with CBS, ruled a conflict of interest by the league.

The Lakers, apparently, had some doubts about whether Thompson would ever fully recover from the injury he received a year ago last April in a collision with Denver’s Maurice Martin. They chose to risk Thompson instead of Campbell, the free agent they signed March 30 out of the Continental Basketball Assn.

“It’s great that Miami showed that kind of interest in me even though I haven’t played this year,” Thompson said. “That’s wonderful, man.

“I didn’t think I’d be protected because I was injured. That shows a lot of confidence from Miami.”

The 6-6 Thompson, who will be 25 on Dec. 1, played for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. champion University of Louisville before being drafted by the Lakers. They liked his physical skills--especially his extraordinary leaping ability--but had doubts about his grasp of the pro game. Thompson said he feels he is almost back to good health and was planning on playing summer-league ball.

A fringe benefit in going to Miami: His younger brother, Sean, a football player, is enrolling at the University of Miami this fall after being recruited by the Hurricanes as an outside linebacker.

Abdul-Jabbar, asked his reaction to being left off the Lakers’ protected list, said: “I don’t have anything to say.”

Earlier in the week, the Laker captain had told Doug Cress of the Daily News that he would be “pretty upset” if the Lakers made such an arrangement without informing him. Was it a sign of disrespect to be left unprotected?

“I can’t respond to that now,” he said Thursday.

Later, in an interview with Fred Roggin on Channel 4, Abdul-Jabbar was asked if his being unprotected had come as a surprise. “No,” he said. “I talked to Jerry West. It kind of caught me unaware, but it all came about as Jerry West said it would.”

The deal with the Lakers was just one of six trades Miami made in an effort to stockpile draft choices. The Heat, which had the first pick ahead of Charlotte, agreed not to draft three players left unprotected by Dallas--centers Bill Wennington and Uwe Blab and guard Steve Alford--but will get the Mavericks’ No. 1 pick in next Tuesday’s college draft.

Valentine, who started at point guard for the Clippers for the final third of the season, is projected as a backup to Mark Price for the Cavaliers.

“My only regret is that I played the last two seasons on a team that was made a mockery out of,” Valentine said when reached at his home in Portland, Ore. “I’d like to be part of the team when they’ll be very good next year. I would have liked to have played with Danny Manning.”

Like Manning, the Clippers’ first pick in the college draft, Valentine played his college ball at Kansas, and played during the summer with Manning on several occasions.

Valentine averaged 8.3 points and 5.3 assists in 2 1/2 seasons with the Clippers, who gave up a No. 1 draft choice to Portland when they obtained him Jan. 14, 1986. The Trail Blazers used that No. 1 to draft Arvydas Sabonis, the star Soviet center they are currently trying to sign.

Charlotte used its first pick to choose Dell Curry, a 6-5 guard from Cleveland, but it was most excited about its deal for Tripucka, in which the Hornets traded Mike Brown, a forward taken from Chicago, for the 6-6 swing man who was buried on the Jazz bench last season.

The Jazz is expected to split with the Hornets the cost of paying Tripucka, who made $971,000 last season and has several years left on his contract.

“I’m sure the Jazz wanted to get something for me but they don’t deserve it, for the way they treated me the last two years,” said Tripucka, who added that he is ecstatic about going to Charlotte. “It doesn’t matter how they make the deal as long as I get my money.”

The Hornets also chose Tripucka’s Utah teammate, Rickey Green, Utah’s starting point guard until he was replaced by John Stockton two games into the 1987-88 season.

The player Miami did choose off Dallas’ list was one Arvid Kramer, a 6-10, 32-year-old center from tiny Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., who never played for the Mavericks.

When the Mavericks entered the league in 1980, they chose Kramer from the Denver Nuggets in the dispersal draft. Kramer never reported to Dallas. Instead, he has played in Europe the last eight seasons, most recently in West Germany. But he has remained on Dallas’ suspended list ever since, and thus was eligible to be taken by the Heat Thursday.

Miami also drafted Fred Roberts from the Boston Celtics, then traded Roberts to Milwaukee for the Bucks’ second-round pick in 1989. The Celtics also will give Miami a second-round choice as part of an arrangement in which the Heat agreed not to draft Dennis Johnson.

Miami also will receive a second-round pick from Seattle next week as part of a previously undisclosed arrangement with the SuperSonics. In all, Miami will have two first-round choices and three second-round picks next week.

Other notable selections: Charlotte selected 5-3 Muggsy Bogues, former Wake Forest star who was a No. 1 draft choice by Washington last season but failed to meet expectations, and Miami took Dwayne (Pearl) Washington, a No. 1 pick of the New Jersey Nets in ’86.

NBA EXPANSION DRAFT MIAMI

No. Player Team Taken From Hgt Position 1 Arvid Kramer Dallas 6-10 Forward 3 Billy Thompson Lakers 6-6 Forward 5 *Fred Roberts Boston 6-10 Forward 7 Scott Hastings Atlanta 6-10 Lenter 9 Jon Sundvold San Antonio 6-2 Guard 11 Kevin Williams Seattle 6-2 Guard 13 Hansi Gnad Philadelphia 6-10 Lenter 15 **Darnell Valentine Cllippers 6-1 Guard 17 Dwayne Washington New Jersey 6-2 Guard 19 Andre Turner Houston 5-11 Guard 21 Lonner Henry Sacramento 6-7 Forward 23 John Stroeder Milwaukee 6-10 Lenter

*Traded to Milwaukee for a second-round draft pick in 1989 **Traded to Lleveland for a second-round draft pick in 1990 or 1992 Note: Miami acquired a 1988 first-round draft pick and the rights to Kramer in exchange for not picking guard Steve Alford, center Bill Wennington or center Uwe Blab; acquired a second-round draft pick in 1991 or 1992 from the Lakers for not selecting center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; acquired a second-round draft pick from Boston in 1988 for not selecting guard Dennis Johnson and acquired a draft choice in 1988 for agreeing to select guard Kevin Williams.

CHARLOTTE

No. Player Team Taken From Hgt Position 2 Dell Lurry Lleveland 6-5 Guard 4 Dave Hoppen Golden State 6-11 Forward-Lenter 6 Tyrone Bogues Washington 5-3 Guard 8 ***Mike Brown Lhicago 6-6 Forward-Lenter 10 Rickey Green Utah 6-0 Guard 12 Michael Holton Portland 6-4 Guard 14 Michael Brooks Denver 6-7 Forward 16 Bernard Thompson Phoenix 6-6 Guard 18 Ralph Lewis Detroit 6-6 Forward-Guard 20 Llinton Wheeler Indiana 6-1 Guard 22 Sedric Toney New York 6-2 Guard

***Traded to Utah for the rights to forward Kelly Tripucka

Times staff writer Chris Baker also contributed to this story.