"I should get a percentage of royalties off that tape" - Kiki VanDeWeghe's odd reaction after learning the Blazers were shopping him
Kiki VanDeWeghe had his moments in the NBA, starting his career with the Denver Nuggets. The German-born American was the 11th overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA Draft. However, Kiki refused to play for the Mavs and demanded for a trade.
The two-time All-Star would be shipped to the Nuggets and did not disappoint. VanDeWeghe played four seasons with the Nuggets, averaging 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 293 regular-season games.
In his last season (1983-84) with the Nuggets, the highlights include seeing the former UCLA Bruin go on a scoring rampage. That includes scoring 50 or more points in two NBA record-setting games.
The Blazers' edge
VanDeWeghe would get traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the summer of 1984. He would continue to make a good account for himself with the Blazers, averaging nearly 25 points per game.
That run came to an unfortunate end during the 1987-88 season. VanDeWeghe suffered a back injury and lost his starting job to Jerome Kersey. Although the Blazers denied having plans to trade the All-Star forward, it turns out that plans were in motion to deal him anyway, per UPI.com.
The spy tape incident
In December 1988, word got out that the Blazers had videotaped VanDeWeghe's practice session at the McNichols arena. The session was shot by Blazers' chief camera operator Tom Enry and was later edited and sent to the San Antonio Spurs.
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For his part, VanDeWeghe said that he was aware of what was going on at the time.
"I saw them. I should get a percentage of royalties off that tape," he said.
Kiki maintained that he did not ask for a trade before learning that Portland was shopping for him. VanDeWeghe would eventually request an exchange but needed to wait for a taker.
Hence, the former Bruin had to play on until the Blazers could find a taker. VanDeWeghe admitted that he felt odd about doing so, although he vowed to play to the best of his abilities.
"They expect me to come out and play basketball for them. I'll do the best I can," he stated.
After that, things were always different for VanDeWeghe as his numbers took a hit. He ended up moving to the New York Knicks in 1988 with hardly impressive numbers.
Vandeweghe averaged 9.2 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27 regular-season games for the Knicks. After four seasons in New York, He was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he played only half a season. Kiki retired from pro basketball after the 1992-93 season.
