Clippers’ Benoit Benjamin Reportedly Going to Italy

Center Benoit Benjamin spurned a new contract with the Clippers and signed with major league champion Philips Milan, the Italian basketball team announced today.

Benjamin, meanwhile, has called a news conference this afternoon in Inglewood.

James Casey, one of three agents representing the 7-footer, said this morning that Benjamin has a one-year deal to play in Milan but that the door is still open for him to return to Los Angeles.

“There’s a chance he could be with the Clippers,” Casey said. “But the Clippers have to step forward or else we’ll be out of here.”

A team spokesman said the club is waiting to see what Benjamin has to say at the news conference.

Casey said the sides are “far apart.” The Clippers have questioned the maturity and conditioning of Benjamin and reportedly are offering a two-year deal.

A Philips Milan spokesman said Benjamin will arrive in Milan on Tuesday and will probably debut with the Italian team in the McDonald’s open tournament that begins Friday in Rome.

The three-day tournament is a four-team affair with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, Philips, Spain’s Barcelona and Yugoslavia’s Yugoplastika Split.

Philips did not immediately report the terms of Benjamin’s contract, but reliable sources disclosed that it was a one-year agreement for $1 million.

If confirmed, Benjamin’s contract would be the third-highest paid to an American by an Italian club.

Last month, Messaggero Rome signed the Clippers’ Danny Ferry, a former Duke All-America, and Brian Shaw, the former Boston Celtics guard. Their contracts reportedly ranged between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.

In the Philips lineup, Benjamin will join former NBA star Bob McAdoo and Italian internationals Antonello Riva and Dino Meneghin.

Benjamin, who had joined the Clippers in 1985, will substitute at Philips for fellow-American Marc Iavaroni, who tore his knee ligaments in his very first game in Italy last month.

Iavaroni will be sidelined for about three months.

Italian teams can field two non-Italians in major league matches. Philips, which has been playing with only one American, has lost its last two matches and fallen to sixth place in the standings after five rounds of the regular season.