Trail Blazers, Yugoslav Star Agree on Pact

Yugoslav basketball star Drazen Petrovic, considered by some to be the best basketball player in Europe, has reached an agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers that reportedly will protect him if he fails to win his release from Spain’s Club Real Madrid.

Trail Blazers President Harry Glickman declined to discuss details, saying only that it is a multiyear contract.

Petrovic’s agent, Warren Legarie, said the contract could make the 6-foot-3 guard one of the highest paid of the European players to join the National Basketball Assn. this year.

‘The Best Player’

“He’s the No. 1 draw in Europe, and many feel he’s the best player,” Legarie said. “His contract is commensurate with that.”

Soviet guard Sarunas Marciulionis had been reported to be the highest-paid after signing a contract with the Golden State Warriors that will pay him nearly $1 million per season for three years.

A provision in the Portland contract, according to a memo obtained by the Spanish sports newspaper Marca, calls for Petrovic to be paid for work in a “non-player” capacity if the contract is not approved by the NBA. The memo was from Petrovic’s Spanish agent, Miguel Angel Panaiagua to Legarie.

The memo indicated that the Trail Blazers will lend Petrovic $1 million as part of the contract and that he will receive a signing bonus.

The loan, which Petrovic apparently will use to pay off the Club Real Madrid buyout clause of $200,000 per season over the next three years, could be counted against the Blazer salary cap.

Meanwhile, the agent for 6-foot-7 power forward Randy White, the Dallas Mavericks’ No. 1 draft pick this year, is on his way to Europe to explore an offer from a club in northern Greece. White turned down the $925,000 he would have made playing for Dallas this year.

“White’s going on a financial fact-finding mission to Europe, and that’s not a good move,” a team source said.

White’s agent, Bill Blakely, said the Mavericks backed out of a deal he thought was solid.