Clippers Lose Center Benjamin to Italian Team

Forever erratic on the court, where he earned a reputation as one of the biggest enigmas in the National Basketball Assn., Benoit Benjamin’s unpredictability reached new heights Monday, when the Clipper team captain announced that he had signed a one-year contract to play for Philips Milano in Italy.

James Casey, Benjamin’s personal manager, said the deal to play in the final 25 games of the 30-game regular season and then the European Cup and Italian playoffs that end in early June is worth close to $2 million. But Gazzetta Dello Sport, the country’s leading sports daily, reported in today’s editions that the price tag is less than $1 million. If that’s accurate, the fifth-year center has taken a pay cut.

The Clippers, who tendered a 25% raise July 1 to retain Benjamin’s rights as a restricted free agent, held strong on keeping his base salary at that same $1.25 million. They gladly would have agreed to numerous other incentive bonuses based on everything from scoring and blocked shots to keeping his weight below 255 pounds, but long ago grew tired of paying for a player who sometimes walked up and down the court during games.

By the time training camp began, his only true supporter within the organization was owner Donald T. Sterling. But even Sterling was told that the best route was for the Clippers to go for a short-term contract and then take their chances when Benjamin becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of his next contract.

With a solid season, Benjamin, a hot commodity in the league as a talented big man, could practically have named his price. Instead, he, Casey and lawyers Henry Holmes and Barry Mallen passed on the one-year deal and turned to Europe. Casey said the contract was signed late Saturday night.

“I’m living for the present,” Benjamin said. “Who knows, I might have a heart attack in the bathroom tonight or tomorrow, but at least I can say I did what’s best for me.”

Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor issued an uncharacteristically strong response to Benjamin’s decision:

“We now have a young, dedicated and well-conditioned team in camp which is hustling, enthusiastic and hard working.

“We made it clear to Benoit that we wanted him as a part of our team only if he fit the same mold. We made a fair offer and structured a contract to assure that he would be well conditioned, hard working and motivated.

“He was not willing to accept those terms and we did not want him on any other terms.”

Some Clippers weren’t convinced that Benjamin wanted to leave the team. Coach Don Casey said he spoke with Benjamin on the phone for about five minutes in the morning and didn’t come away feeling that his suddenly former center was feeling good about the decision.

Clipper guard Gary Grant agreed.

“He said he didn’t want to go,” said Grant, who got the news from Benjamin over the phone Sunday in Oregon, where the Clippers finished a two-game exhibition series against the Portland Trail Blazers.

“He said he wanted to stay. He liked the players on the team, at least the ones he knew from last year. I said to him, ‘You don’t want to go there.’ He said, ‘I’ll be back.’ ”

In Milan, he will be a teammate of Bob McAdoo, a former Laker, and Mike D’Antoni, a former NBA and American Basketball Assn. player who became a naturalized Italian citizen. He will be an opponent of Danny Ferry, the Clippers’ top 1989 draft pick who signed with Il Messaggero of Rome on Aug. 1. Like Ferry, who also has a one-year commitment, Benjamin’s rights will be retained by the Clippers.

“People were pressuring him to hurry up and make a decision, things like that,” Grant said. “I think he also just wanted to get back to playing basketball.”

As the Clippers flew into Ontario Airport to return to their hotel and two-a-day workouts at Cal Poly Pomona, Benjamin, a holdout at training camp, readied for a news conference in Inglewood. He didn’t show on time there, either.

After arriving about 45 minutes late, he put any uncertainties regarding his departure Monday night to rest.

“To be quite frank, I don’t think the Clippers treated me fair, and all I wanted to be was treated fair,” Benjamin said. “They did never once try to treat me fair. I got dragged in the mud, talked about in the papers like a dog. I went through seasons such as 12-70. I’m quite sure all of you know the type of organization and the internal problems that they’ve had as an organization. But right now, I don’t want to dwell on the negative parts of the Clippers, because there is some positives.”

Said James Casey: “We heard they thought we were bluffing. But in this position, there’s no such thing as a bluff because the team has got to get on with winning championships. (The Clippers have) lost two people to Italy now. Maybe they should check out what they’re doing wrong.”

One of Benjamin’s first games in Italy could be against the Denver Nuggets, who will be playing in the four-team McDonald’s Open this weekend in Rome. Philips Milano plays a team from Yugoslavia and the Nuggets face one from Spain in the first round Friday, and the winners meet Sunday in a game that will be televised nationally in the United States.

Philips Milano, which does not play again until Friday, has started 3-2. The team was looking for a frontcourt player to replace Marc Iavaroni, who suffered a career-threatening injury five minutes into the first game, and considered offers to Keith Lee and Rick Mahorn before moving on Benjamin.

“I’m taken aback by it,” said Don Casey, who was promoted from last season’s interim position largely on his positive relationship with Benjamin. “But I can’t jump into players’ decisions. Now we have a void.”

So will Benjamin be missed by the Clippers?

An out-of-shape Benjamin, as he was for much of last season, they could do without. But the fact remains, they need a starting center. Casey knows all too well they’ll face Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon twice and New York’s Patrick Ewing, the two best at that position, in the first six games of the season.

Until then, Joe Wolf is the starting center in something of a three-forward offense with Charles Smith and Ken Norman. Wolf’s outside shooting should allow him to become a legitimate scoring threat, but defense, where he no doubt will be posted up, could turn into a much tougher battle. Ken Bannister and Martin Nessley are the current backups.

“I don’t know what his thinking was, but obviously he was looking to take care of himself financially, and he took care of himself,” Wolf said of Benjamin. “In terms of the team, we could use him. It’s obvious. But now we have to concentrate on what we do best, and that’s a three-forward offense.”

Benjamin, meanwhile, has adjustments of his own to make. Getting used to eating pasta, something he doesn’t have much of a taste for these days, would be a good start.

“I guess I could learn to like it,” he said.

Times staff writer Sam McManis contributed to this story.