Trail Blazers Trade Bowie, No. 12 Pick in Draft to Nets for Buck Williams

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired veteran power forward Buck Williams from the New Jersey Nets Saturday in exchange for oft-injured center-forward Sam Bowie and the 12th pick in Tuesday’s National Basketball Assn. draft.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Williams has averaged 16.4 points and 11.9 rebounds a game in eight seasons and has appeared in three NBA All-Star games.

Bowie, who has missed much of his professional and college career with broken bones in both legs, played in 20 games last season after recovering from a broken right tibia suffered in November 1986.

He averaged 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.

“What’s so interesting about the trade was that Portland was able to keep its starting lineup intact and still add a quality player,” Williams said.

“It’s always difficult to leave your first love,” he said. “I just hope Portland is my new love.”

Williams has been coveted by the Trail Blazers for some time.

“We’ve been trying to do something, but the price had always been one of our nucleus (of top players),” Bucky Buckwalter, the Blazers’ vice president for player personnel, said. “To get him without giving up one of our starters, we felt good about that.”