Clippers Select Benjamin and Take a Look at Maxwell

On the day the Clippers selected Creighton’s 7-foot center Benoit Benjamin third overall in the National Basketball Assn. draft, they also flew Cedric Maxwell to Los Angeles for a physical in hopes of acquiring the veteran Boston Celtic power forward.

The Clippers and Celtics are negotiating a trade that would bring Maxwell to Los Angeles either for free-agent center Bill Walton or future considerations. The deal apparently hinges on the condition of Maxwell’s left knee, which required arthoscopic surgery in February and rendered him ineffective in the playoffs.

After examining Maxwell Tuesday afternoon, Clipper team doctor Tony Daly told Coach Don Chaney and General Manager Carl Scheer that Maxwell’s left knee is not as strong as his healthy right knee. Daly also said that there is no further structural damage to the knee and that it probably could be rehabilitated.

Upon hearing Daly’s report, Scheer said: “You’d have to say that (the trade) is on hold at best. And I wouldn’t consider the odds good right now. . . . At the present time, Maxwell is a risk. Maybe four to six weeks from now, we could check him again.”

Because they have chosen a young 7-foot center they are extremely impressed with, the Clippers are willing to part with Walton or James Donaldson, their other center, for a quality power forward. After going through the formalities of officially selecting Benjamin, Scheer and Chaney unveiled unveiled a Clipper jersey, number 00, to a gathering of fans and media at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

It was the number Benjamin wore at Creighton and also the one he will wear with the Clippers. But it also could represent the amount of help the Clippers had received from their previous top draft picks. Last year’s first-round selections, Lancaster Gordon and Michael Cage, did not make much of an impact, and none of the first-round picks from the previous four years are still with the team.

All that could change now that the Clippers have drafted Benjamin. The Clippers said Tuesday that Benjamin, 20, will change the fortunes of the club, a perennial loser that has never qualified for the NBA playoffs since it moved to California from Buffalo.

Before introducing a highlight film entitled “Big Ben,” Scheer told the gathering that Benjamin, who declared himself eligible for the draft after his junior year, is the first step in the Clippers’ quest to be on an “equal basis” with the Lakers.

“I’ve never had a chance to draft a powerful center that could be the foundation of a team for many, many years,” Scheer said. “When you have a center that can play for 10 to 15 years, you don’t have to back off against teams like the Lakers and Philadelphia and Boston. I guess we have to be careful in hyping him too much and putting a lot of pressure on him. But he’s a very good basketball player. I’ve said before that he could turn out to be as good as or better than (Patrick) Ewing.”

The way the Clippers were touting Benjamin Tuesday, it almost seemed as if the New York Knicks had made a mistake in drafting Ewing instead of Benjamin. Chaney laughed at that suggestion, but he was happy that the Indiana Pacers, drafting just ahead of the Clippers, had selected Wayman Tisdale, Oklahoma’s 6-9 forward, leaving Benjamin for the Clippers.

“This kid has the ingredients of my ideal center,” Chaney said. “He has three ingredients that really make me drool. One, he’s an excellent shot blocker. Two, he can rebound very well. And three, he has the ability to run the floor very well for a big man. That’s what I really like about him.”

Benjamin’s statistics in three seasons at Creighton are impressive. He posted his best numbers as a junior last season, averaging 21.5 points, 14.1 rebounds and 5.1 blocked shots. He finished his college career as the third-leading shot blocker in NCAA history, behind only Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson.

Despite all that, there are some around the NBA who aren’t sure that Benjamin will develop into a dominating center. They question Benjamin’s attitude and desire. At Creighton, Benjamin was given special treatment by Willis Reed, his coach, and often yelled at teammates and officials.

Because of Benjamin’s reputation as a player with an attitude problem, the Clippers called in Saul Miller, a psychologist, to talk with Benjamin in Los Angeles recently. Scheer said that is not common practice among NBA teams, but he considered it necessary in this case.

“It just gave us another dimension into Benjamin’s personality,” Scheer said. “It’s still very unscientific, but I want to do it with all of our players. If we had done that before, maybe we wouldn’t have acquired some players we did, or drafted differently.”

What the Clippers have discovered about Benjamin is that he is an extremely confident individual, but somewhat naive about what to expect in the NBA.

The first time Chaney and Scheer met with Benjamin this spring, Chaney asked him: “How would you react the first time an established center kicked your tail?”

Scheer said that Benjamin looked puzzled and told the Clipper officials that he had never considered such a possibility.

Scheer added: “Eventually, he said, ‘I guess I’ll have to start thinking about it.’ Of course, he’s a little naive about how it’s going to be. We tried to talk to as many people as we could to get a line on (Benjamin). But we won’t really know how he’ll be until we get him in a pro setting.”

Benjamin’s confidence was evident during a phone interview with the Los Angeles media. He said he feels no pressure, even though the Clippers expect him to provide immediate help.

“I think the Clippers need a young center that can do more things than what they have now,” Benjamin said. “I really don’t think I had an attitude problem. I just got emotionally involved in the games. I get really intense when I’m playing, get carried away.”

Most NBA general managers believed that if Benjamin had returned to Creighton for his senior year--even though Reed had left the program to become an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks--he would have been the top pick in next year’s draft.

Benjamin said he never really considered returning to school.

“I felt it was my time to leave,” he said. “I truly feel, deep in my heart, that I can play in the NBA right now. I want to become one of the greatest players in the NBA. That’s my goal. I think I had a better chance of getting drafted high this year. If I had a bad year or got injured next year, my value would have gone down.”

Benjamin, who is represented by agent Larry Fleisher, will fly to Los Angeles in about two weeks to meet again with Clipper officials. Negotiations on a contract probably will start soon. “I’m just going to let Larry handle all the negotiations and things,” Benjamin said.

The addition of Benjamin gives the Clippers three centers, the others being Walton and James Donaldson. Since the Clippers are seeking a power forward, Scheer said he will try to use one or both of his veteran centers in trades.

Even though Maxwell was examined in Los Angeles Tuesday, Scheer said talk of that trade still is premature. Scheer said that Walton, who is a free agent, will soon meet with Celtic President Red Auerbach. Walton did not return a reporter’s call Tuesday.

“We’re interested, but there are a lot of things that could happen,” Scheer said.

Chaney said that Maxwell’s knee injury is minor and that Maxwell would complement Benjamin and small forward Marques Johnson. But the Clippers also will listen to other trade possibilities.

Whatever else happens, though, the Clippers expect Benjamin to be the starting center next season.

“That position will be there waiting for him,” Chaney said. “He’s going to face a lot of pressure. It’s inevitable. I think he will be a great center. I think he’ll be one of the top centers in the league in the next three or four years.”

One of the first things Benjamin wants to do when he arrives in town in two weeks is meet the Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“Hopefully, when I get there, I can give him a call and get together and work out,” Benjamin said.

Clipper Notes

The Clippers had no second-round pick, then selected Houston Baptist forward Anicet Lavodrama, a native of Nigeria, in the third round. They also selected Arizona State forward Jim Deines in the fourth round, USC’s Wayne Carlander in the fifth, Missouri forward Malcolm Thomas in the sixth, and UCLA’s Gary Maloncon in the seventh and last round. . . . Another lawsuit looms for the Clippers. An Italian team that claims it signed Clipper forward Michael Cage to a contract last summer before the Clippers signed Cage is suing the Clippers and Cage for breach of contract. General Counsel Arn Tellem said Tuesday that he had been served the papers. “I think it’s more of a nuisance suit than anything based on fact,” Tellem said. “To my knowledge, Michael Cage didn’t sign anything with the Italian team.” He added: “We’re more active in court than on the court.” . . . Among the highlight films and video features the Clippers showed to the audience at the Beverly Wilshire before Tuesday’s draft was an in-depth story on Marques Johnson’s homecoming in Los Angeles. Obviously, it was taped before the Clippers’ court action that seeks to nullify the trade because the Milwaukee Bucks allegedly failed to inform the Clippers of Johnson’s 1983 stay in a drug rehabilitation center.

CLIPPER PICKS

Benoit Benjamin Creighton C Anicet Lavodrama Houston Baptist F Jim Deines Arizona St. F Wayne Carlander USC F Malcom Thomas Missouri F Gary Maloncon UCLA F