Clippers to Feel Effects of Benjamin’s Departure

Out of sight, out of mind?

Not at about $20,000 a month.

That’s how much the Clippers will still be paying Benoit Benjamin in deferred compensation from his original contract four years ago, even as Benjamin begins a separate one-year deal with Philips Milano in Italy. Payments to the fifth-year center will run the length of the National Basketball Assn. season.

The Clippers’ most recent offer to their former team captain also included deferred payments, which didn’t seem to bother him nearly as much as the proposed incentive payments to keep his weight under control. The complete package, including bonuses, could have been worth more than $3 million for two years, the Clippers holding the option on the second season.

“We made it clear we were willing to pay based on performance and not potential,” said Clipper General Counsel Alan Rothenberg, who handled the negotiations. “We were not interested in paying Ben millions of dollars and then watching him struggle to get through practices. He didn’t want any part of the weight clause, which made us believe that he wasn’t ready to put forth the right effort.”

Benjamin, typically soft-spoken around strangers, arrived in Milan Tuesday night and talked to about 20 reporters as if he were back at the news conference in the Inglewood YMCA. He said he’s in good shape, ready to play and looking forward to Italian basketball.

The loss of Benjamin leaves the Clippers with no center capable of the same impact as the league’s sixth-best shot blocker. Coach Don Casey, who stays out of contract negotiations, knows only that he needs bodies.

They do seem to be in short supply for the Clippers, who since July 1 have lost:

--Quintin Dailey, who for all his problems (see: Lakers, 1989 training camp), did average 16.1 points a game last season before the Clippers decided not to pick up the option on his contract.

--Danny Ferry, who also signed to play in Italy.

--Benjamin.

Overall, the Clippers’ starting center, starting shooting guard and their No. 1 draft choice are gone, with nothing to show in return.

The only additions to a team that went 21-61 and finished last in the Pacific Division for the third consecutive season are a pair of second-round choices, Jeff Martin and Jay Edwards, although a couple of the free agents figure to stick, too.

Partly because of bad luck, partly because of bad decisions, the draft in recent years hasn’t yielded much more than a quiet breeze to the 1989-90 Clippers, at least with the No. 1 picks. Among them are:

--1989, Ferry, arrivederci.

--1988, Danny Manning, who will not be back until December at the earliest after suffering a knee injury last season.

--1987, Reggie Williams, the starting shooting guard.

--1986, Dwayne Polee, gone.

--1985, Benjamin.

--1984, Lancaster Gordon, gone.

The three years before that yielded starters, who became stars, but with other teams--Byron Scott, with the Lakers; Terry Cummings, with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Tom Chambers, with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Two weeks before Benjamin left, management, pleased with the progress of guard Gary Grant, tore up his three-year contract and rewarded him with a new four-year deal. A similar deal was also completed Tuesday with Ken Norman, who was beginning the final season of a three-year contract that would have paid him $450,000 for 1989-90. The new package is four years at $4.4 million. Money was not the main issue with Benjamin.

Unlike a year ago, when the salary cap was a major concern with Manning coming in, there are no such worries this time. Raises are being handed out; Benjamin’s $1-million price tag for 1988-89 will remain on the payroll as the Clippers retain his NBA rights as a restricted free agent, and there’s still room to spare if a trade opportunity comes along.