EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 16 -- The New Jersey Nets Tuesday acquired swingman Vincent Askew from the Seattle SuperSonics for guard Greg Graham. Askew spent the last three-plus seasons with Seattle as a key reserve. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 69 contests last year, but was the victim of a roster shakeup in the NBA Finals against Chicago and was benched for two games. He also played 14 games with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1987-88, appeared in 87 contests with Golden State from 1990-92 and was with Sacramento before being acquired by Seattle in 1992. 'We are very pleased to add a player like Vincent to our roster,' Nets general manager John Nash said. 'We feel that his addition gives us an added defender and scorer from the forward position as well as providing depth to our roster.' 'Vincent has had an outstanding career with the Sonics and has been a great contributor to our team success, particularly with his tremendous defensive play,' said Sonics president/general manager Wally Walker. 'We are in a position to create additional salary cap room and in Greg Graham we're getting a versatile two-guard that fits in well with our style of play.' The 25-year-old Graham apppeared in 45 games with New Jersey last year, averaging 4.5 points, after being acquired from Philadelphia in the Derrick Coleman trade on Nov. 30. Graham was originally a first- round draft pick by Charlotte in 1993, but was traded on draft day to the 76ers.
Seattle Tuesday also renounced the rights to center/forward Frank Brickowski and center Ervin Johnson. The 36-year-old Brickowski, who missed the entire 1994-95 campaign with a shoulder injury, averaged 5.4 points in 63 contests last year. Johnson, Seattle's first-round pick in 1993, started 60 games in the middle last season, averaging 5.5 points. 'Ervin and Frank will be greatly missed,' added Walker, 'both with their on and off the court contributions. It is a difficult decision to renounce players whom you like and respect, but they won't have any trouble finding new NBA homes and we wish them the best.'