Manning and Marshall Are on Board in L.A. : Clippers, No. 1 Draft Pick Agree to 5-Year, $10.5-Million Pact

The Clippers and Danny Manning reached agreement on a contract Friday, and the National Basketball Assn.’s No. 1 draft pick is expected to be in uniform for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns at the Sports Arena.

Terms were not announced, but Clipper sources said the deal was worth $10.5 million for 5 years, with none of the money deferred. The first year of the contract is worth $1.5 million, the sources said.

Manning, the college player of the year at Kansas, and his agent, Ron Grinker, are scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles this morning from Cincinnati, where Grinker lives and Manning has been staying. Manning, who could not be reached for comment Friday, is expected to sign the contract and attend a news conference at the Sports Arena, then join the Clippers, who have lost 3 of their first 4 games, for their 7:30 tipoff against the Suns.

Manning, a versatile 6-foot 10-inch forward, led the Jayhawks to the 1988 National Collegiate Athletic Assn. title and played on the U.S. team this fall in the Seoul Olympics.

Both sides called the contract a compromise. The Clippers agreed to an all-cash deal, instead of deferring 30% of the money, as they had wanted. And Grinker agreed to a fifth year in the contract after having previously insisted on 4 years.

“It was some normal horse-trading,” Clipper President Alan Rothenberg said. “We wanted 5 years and they wanted 4. They wanted all cash, and we wanted some deferred. You saw that a little compromise was made, that we traded the length for the method of payment.”

Grinker said: “(The contract) is one I’ll be comfortable with, the length and the terms. No one will hear Danny or me complain about it as long as it runs. It is fair and it was a compromise. It’s not everything we wanted and it’s not everything Donald (Sterling, the Clippers’ owner) wanted, but it’s a compromise.”

Since playing in the Olympics, Manning has not been involved in any organized basketball. His workouts in Cincinnati initially consisted of playing pickup games with players at Xavier University, but those ended when the team began organized practices. So Manning has spent recent weeks doing aerobics, working with weights and shooting around.

Some NBA veterans said it will be January before Manning adjusts to the league.

“He’s going to contribute right away, but it will take a few months, I think, before things start to look smooth,” said Clipper Coach Gene Shue, who coached Ed Manning, Danny’s father and an assistant coach at San Antonio, when they were with the Baltimore Bullets. “I have some thoughts in my mind how things will work, based on what I know he can do from college, but we will have to wait and see how he develops against the pros.

“I’ve said from the beginning that this is the guy who can make the whole thing work.”

The Clippers will have to make room on their roster for Manning, who will put them one over the 12-player limit.

Both the Clippers and Grinker credited NBA administrators--especially Commissioner David Stern and Vice President and General Counsel Gary Bettman--with helping the sides reach the agreement. Stern had previously called a Clipper offer of $10 million for 5 years, with 30% deferred, very fair, but his role was stepped up Thursday night after a team party at Sterling’s Beverly Hills home.

Arn Tellem, the Clippers’ general counsel and chief negotiator, drove Stern to his hotel after the party. The two discussed ways to help negotiations progress, deciding to involve Bettman as an unofficial intermediary.

Bettman then talked with Sterling, Rothenberg, Tellem and Grinker throughout Friday afternoon until an agreement was reached.