THE NBA DRAFT : Clippers Take Pass on Elliott and Play It Safe With Ferry

To the guarded Clippers, in the wake of Danny Manning’s severe knee injury, Sean Elliott’s leg brace and much-publicized medical report, apparently posed too big a risk in Tuesday’s National Basketball Assn. draft.

So they took the safe route, selecting Duke forward-center Danny Ferry with the second pick in the draft.

Elliott, the Wooden Award-winner from the University of Arizona, suffered a knee injury seven years ago and has worn the brace since, so the Clippers bypassed him.

Needing an outside shooter, they were prepared to take Glen Rice of Michigan, touted as the draft’s best shooter, but switched to Ferry, an inside player, at the last minute. Former Wolverine Gary Grant, the Clipper rookie point guard last season, even spent time before the draft trying to persuade General Manager Elgin Baylor to take Rice.

Meetings among Baylor, President Alan Rothenberg, still-interim coach Don Casey, director of scouting Barry Hecker, team physician Tony Daly and owner Donald T. Sterling dominated the final hours before the draft. As late as 15 minutes before the draft began, uncertainty prevailed.

Finally, Sterling excused himself from the meeting upstairs at the Sports Arena and took his seat on the floor to watch the selection process with everyone else on the two big-screen televisions, leaving the decision to Baylor.

He surely hoped for a better reaction. When announcer Ralph Lawler took a note from Baylor and told about 2,000 fans on hand that Ferry was a Clipper, the Sports Arena echoed with boos.

“I know there’s some mixed emotions with the pick,” Baylor said. “We just felt we had to get the best available player.”

With doubts about Elliott’s longevity, the Clippers chose a player with basketball bloodlines. Ferry, a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, is the son of Washington Bullet General Manager Bob Ferry.

“I was a little surprised, but I think I would have been surprised no matter where I ended up,” Ferry said of the selection. “I had no idea where I would be playing next year.

“I was looking forward to getting the day over with (because of the uncertainty) that I didn’t worry where I would go. I’ll finally be able to sleep good tonight.

“I didn’t know what to expect and kind of came into the draft thinking that way. Something may still happen.”

In other words, a trade. Baylor, as usual, refused to rule out any such possibilities, saying, “We don’t shut the door to that.” But, clearly, this was not a pick for trade bait.

The selection of Ferry, a 6-foot-10 All-American, was based on depth more than immediate need. On a team that has Ken Norman, probably their most valuable player in 1988-89, and Charles Smith, selected to the league’s all-rookie team, at forward, the Clippers took Ferry because:

--He can play center, at least on offense. The Clippers are unsure whether he can handle the low post defensively, but could use him there, employing a small lineup such as the Golden State Warriors did last season, or as insurance to cover the unpredictable Benoit Benjamin. That includes the possibility that Benjamin will become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

--He can, at the least, be another backup forward to Smith and Norman with no return date targeted for Manning, and none expected for a couple of months.

“I would say Ferry is dead smack in the middle as a player between myself and Danny Manning,” said Smith, who played against Ferry in past Sports Festivals and the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials. “He’s a good passer around the post like Manning, and he can hit the outside shot and rebound.”

The Clippers went for shooters in the second round, and also finished the draft three for three on player-of-the-year picks.

At No. 31, they took Jeff Martin of Murray State, regarded as an outstanding outside shooter. The Ohio Valley Conference player of the year, who averaged 25.6 points as a senior, is the brother of Wayne Martin, the former Arkansas defensive end who was the New Orleans Saints’ first-round pick on April 23.

Pick No. 33, acquired as part of the trade that sent Derek Smith to the Sacramento Kings in 1986, was a little more well-known: Jay Edwards of Indiana, the Big Ten player of the year in 1989 as a sophomore. He comes with potential and excess baggage to match, namely being suspended for two weeks during his freshman season for academic reasons and then spending 10 days in an Indianapolis substance-abuse center for an undisclosed problem last September.

“We’re not concerned about it,” Baylor said. “It seems like everything is behind him.”

The Clippers hope so. Edwards or Martin may be their starting off guard, if Reggie Williams does not come around and Quintin Dailey, a free agent as of July 1, is not re-signed.

Clipper Notes

Elgin Baylor, discussing Sean Elliott and his knee problems, said last week: “The guy has played for seven years with no problem, not even swelling. He went through the Olympic trials with two-a-day workouts with no problem. We don’t see any of that (the knee) being a problem.” Tuesday, Baylor said: “Talking to our medical people, we thought there might be a risk factor.” . . . So much for bringing players into town for individual workouts, as most teams do. The Clippers had visits from Elliott, Glen Rice, Pervis Ellison and George McCloud. No Danny Ferry.

The Clippers again are using Danny Manning to promote ticket sales without any certainty that he will play. Last season, they put the No. 1 draft pick in advertisements and on the cover of the media guide before he even signed, causing something of an interesting campaign when Manning held out. Now, Manning, along with Ken Norman, Gary Grant and Charles Smith, has been in newspaper promotions advertising season tickets. . . . Don Casey was introduced as Coach Don Casey to the crowd, whatever that means. Casey, the Clippers’ interim coach since Jan. 19, has not been approached by team officials about a future contract after his runs out July 1.

ELLISON NO. 1: Sacramento makes Louisville’s Pervis Ellison first pick of the draft. Sam McManis’ story, Page 6.

SOUTHLAND PLAYERS: UCLA’s Pooh Richardson is selected by Minnesota. Jerry Crowe’s story, Page 6.

THE DRAFT LIST: Page 6.