COMMENTARY : A Long Way to Rome, Maybe Shortcut Home

Everyone thought it was a bad move when the Los Angeles Clippers made Danny Ferry their No. 1 draft pick. Tuesday, it got worse. Ferry dropped the Big One on the NBA’s Lottery Lifers: He told them to go scratch, and signed a contract to play in Rome instead. One year, at one million bucks. A lot more than three coins in the fountain. You won’t hear Danny Ferry sing “I Love L.A.” unless he sings it in Italian.

He’s now property of Messaggero Rome of the Italian League. Think of it as Duke with tomato sauce.

I say “now” because I wouldn’t bet the cannoli he’ll be there for the whole season. He probably has an escape clause that allows him to come back and play for an NBA team other than the Clippers. His father is probably already hard at work on such a deal. Rome may be The Eternal City, but Danny Ferry plans to use it as a layover. So the Bullets are still alive in the Danny Ferry Sweepstakes. The only NBA team he definitely won’t play for is the Clippers.

That’s what this is all about: Bob Ferry’s plot to engineer a trade to move Danny Ferry as far away from the Clippers as possible. A sound move. “No one in his right mind wants anything to do with the Clippers,” one NBA executive said.

The franchise hasn’t made the playoffs since 1976, when the Clippers played as the Buffalo Braves. Of course, this is impossible in a league where 16 teams make the playoffs. Year after year they end up in the lottery; David Stern will have retired as commissioner of the NBA, NFL and NHL before they get out of the lottery. Being with the Clippers means always having to say “I’m sorry.” It’s the NBA’s answer to Jiffy Lube -- every 10,000 miles they change coaches. Everyone they draft either breaks his leg, forgets how to shoot or would rather hold his breath until he turns blue than play for them. I admit I was surprised when the Clippers chose Ferry. I figured they’d take someone from Albania.

Bob Ferry was livid when the Clippers drafted Danny. That was the last team Bob expected would choose his son. “I don’t understand it,” Bob angrily snapped after the pick was announced. Indeed, it was inexplicable. The Clippers already had a stamp collection of fine young players at Ferry’s natural position, power forward: Charles Smith, Ken Norman and Joe Wolf had to play there. And the best prospect of all, Danny Manning, was likely to find himself there as well, since his knee injury limits his mobility.

The picks that made the most sense for the Clippers were Glen Rice or Sean Elliott. Both were available. Taking Ferry seemed either totally idiotic (which is par for the course with the Clippers) or a preamble to a major trade. Ferry himself assumed he’d be traded. He’d seen it happen. A year ago, Philadelphia picked Charles Smith only to ship him to the Clippers. In 1984, Danny’s dad had drafted Dinner Bell Mel Turpin, and immediately dispatched him to Cleveland. So even as he placed a Clippers cap on his head, Danny figured it for a momentary wardrobe. “I’m still not sure I’ll be in L.A.,” he grinned, though he couldn’t for a moment have thought he’d end up in Rome.

Ah, Roma.

Instead of the Richfield Coliseum, Ferry gets the original Colosseum. (Memo from Pete Rose: Kid, bet the Lions.) Instead of the Fabulous Forum, Ferry gets the original Forum. He’ll be such a star, they’ll name a pasta for him; you’ll be able to order veal marsala with a side order of linguini al Ferry.

This may be an interesting reversal in trends. Many great European players seem anxious to come to America. Golden State signed a Soviet guard. The Hawks just signed a Soviet forward. The Lakers and the Celtics drafted Yugoslavians. Drazen Petrovic, Yugoslavia’s Pistol Pete, has gone to court to clear his way to negotiate with Portland. Ferry is one of the first to go the other way. Jose Ortiz signed with a team in Spain rather than the Utah Jazz two years ago so he could remain eligible to play in the 1988 Olympics, but Ortiz speaks fluent Spanish. It’s unlikely Ferry can say much more in Italian than “pizza” and “Sophia Loren.”

How long Ferry will play in Rome -- if at all -- is unclear. Practice starts this week, the season begins in late September. Ferry could actually play some games and still be back for the NBA opener in early November, providing the Clippers agree to trade him. You’d think they would, rather than face the humiliation of the draft’s No. 2 overall pick winding up completely worthless. “But we’re dealing with the Clippers now,” the NBA exec reminds us. “There’s no guiding intelligence there. Eventually, they’ll trade Ferry. But no one knows when.”

What were Ferry’s options? He could sue to have the draft declared illegal. But his dad wouldn’t want any part of a lawsuit that threatened to unravel the fabric of his business. He could join the Navy; it’s worked for David Robinson. He could lounge around for a year and go back into the draft in 1990 (where the Clippers might take him again). Or he could play in another country. He chose that option, and in a prepared statement expressed admiration for Tom McMillen and Bill Bradley, both of whom played in Italy while Rhodes scholars.

However long he plays in Italy, Ferry will find a reasonably good brand of ball. Bob McAdoo and Micheal Ray Richardson play there. (In the understatement of the year so far, Messaggero team president Carlos Sama said, “With Ferry, our team makes a substantial leap in quality.” What I’m waiting to hear is the coach say, “I don’t care what he did at Duke, this is Italy. Danny Ferry’s got to satisfy me he can play in this league.”) The Italian league is outside-shooting oriented, which should be good for Ferry’s game. The zones won’t help him defensively, but playing against older players will. All in all, culturally and professionally it should be an enjoyable stay. Particularly considering the alternative.