Nixon to Have Surgery, Will Miss 4 to 6 Months

Star guard Norm Nixon of the Clippers will be out four to six months at the start of the 1986-87 National Basketball Assn. season after injuring his left knee while playing softball Thursday in New York’s Central Park. Nixon is scheduled to undergo surgery Sunday at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Marina del Rey.

“It was just a freak accident, that’s all, Nixon said in explaining how he got hurt. “Nobody pushed me. Nobody bumped me. I was just running for a fly ball in the outfield and I just stepped in a hole and twisted it. I just freaked.”

Nixon, 30, was playing in a softball game composed of the casts of Broadway shows. His wife, actress Debbie Allen, is starring in a production of “Sweet Charity.”

Nixon flew back to Los Angeles Friday to be examined by the team doctor, Anthony Daly Jr. The guard, who according to an airline representative bought an extra seat on the plane to have more room for his injured leg, was walking on crutches and wearing a cast that went from his thigh to just below his ankle as he made his way through the airport terminal. He was met by a Clipper official, who drove him to Daly’s office in Marina del Rey for an examination.

Nixon feared the worst before the examination--”I probably damaged a tendon,”--and as it turned out, he was right.

“After a thorough examination, Norm Nixon was determined to have suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon in his left knee,” Daley said in a prepared statement after examining Nixon. “With surgery and rehabilitation, he is expected to be out of action four to six months.”

Said Nixon, after hearing the diagnosis: “It’s the first time I’ve ever been hurt. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Last year when I missed camp (he missed training camp and the first 13 games of the season during a prolonged contract dispute) I thought I’d be ready to play right away, but it didn’t happen. I don’t know what the time table will be for this. I guess it’ll will be day to day. This year I was just expecting to come to camp and be ready right from the start.”

Clipper Coach Don Chaney was on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment. “He’s driving in a Winnebago somewhere in Texas,” a team official said.

However, Alan Rothenberg, team president, said: “It’s just a shame for the team and a shame for Norm. The good news is that Dr. Daly says it’s the type of injury from which athletes recover.

“Four to six months seems like a long time, but with the length of the NBA season, he’ll be back for half of the season. I guess we’ve got to stay in contention until he comes back.”

Rothenberg said there’s a clause in the standard NBA contract that prohibits athletes from engaging in hazardous activities. Baseball is included in the list, but softball is not.

Said Elgin Baylor, the new Clipper general manager: “Of course, it hurts when you lose a player of Norm’s caliber and his leadership. But right now our primary concern is that everything goes well and the operation is a success.

“It’s a freaky thing. I had talked to Norm before he went to New York and he was really looking forward to next season.

“He’s very disappointed. We’re all disappointed and unhappy. But it’s going to be OK.”

Nixon signed a reported $2.7-million, five-year contract last November. He played six seasons for the Lakers (1977-83) before he was traded to the then San Diego Clippers. He has played three seasons for the Clippers.

With Nixon to be sidelined when the Clippers open the 1986-87 season Oct. 31 at Sacramento, there may be greater pressure on the team to sign free agent guards Derek Smith, Franklin Edwards and Darnell Valentine.

However, Smith has said that he won’t play for the Clippers, even if they match an offer sheet.

Clipper Notes

Norm Nixon has to stay in a hotel before Sunday’s operation because he has sold his house here to Curtis Blow, a rap-music rock star. . . . The Israeli national all-star basketball team will play a team of NBA stars at the Sports Arena Sunday night in a charity exhibition game. Elgin Baylor, the Clipper general manager, will coach the NBA team. Expected to play for the NBA stars are the Lakers’ Michael Cooper and Kurt Rambis, the Clippers’ Rory White and Dwayne Polee, Portland’s Kiki Vandeweghe, Sacramento’s Reggie Theus, Phoenix’s James Edwards, Denver’s Danny Schayes and New York’s Ernie Grunfeld.