So a few minutes ago I was in my bathroom, reading the 1988-89 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball. And there was a section on the year’s two expansion teams, the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets. As these things generally go, the organizations had an expansion draft, where unprotected players were plucked off the rosters of existing franchises.
With the first selection, Miami grabbed Arvid Kramer from the Dallas Mavericks.
Now, I remember being a kid and thinking, “Who the hell is Arvid Kramer, and why did he go first overall?” I mean, though he was on the Mavs’ roster, he never appeared in a game, and played college ball at tiny Augustana. Were the Heat executives that dumb? Did they think some guy named Arvid Kramer was special? It actually pissed me off.
Well, turns out the Mavs and Heat had a deal. Dallas wanted to protect three players (Bill Wennington, Jim Farmer and Steve Alford), so they gave Miami its first-round pick in the collegiate draft in exchange for the promise that Kramer would be plucked. So … he was. And Miami ultimately grabbed Kevin Edwards, the DePaul guard who went on to a very solid NBA career.
