He Brings a Cavalier Attitude to Clippers

Ron Harper actually had one of the following reactions when he found out that he had been traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of 57 games last season, to the L.A. Clippers, winners of 50 games the last three seasons.

You guess which:

(a) “I’m a Clipper, he’s a Clipper, she’s a Clipper, wouldn’t you like to be a Clipper, too?”

(b) “Hello? Alitalia Airlines? One-way ticket to Rome, please.”

(c) “The Clippers traded for me? What did the Clippers have to trade for me?”

(d) “I’m dead.”

(e) “Tell Riley and Magic and Worthy and Byron and everybody that Los Angeles is going to take five NBA championships in the ‘90s, same as it did in the ‘80s. Only this time it’s going to be the other Los Angeles!”

Is the answer (e)?

Of course it isn’t. Ron Harper isn’t a fool. Harper was traded the other day, but he wasn’t born yesterday. No, the actual answer is (d) “I’m dead,” because that was the honest, reflexive first thought Harper had after he heard the news. “I’m dead,” he said. “I’m gone.”

Believe it or not, there are still people out there who believe there is no life after Cleveland.

But even though he has spent his entire 25-year life in the state of Ohio, the time has come for Ronald Harper to come settle the state of confusion. He’s a certified Clipper now. He makes his debut tonight at the Sports Arena against the New Jersey Nets. And not since John Wayne has a man staked out the California territory with a brave attitude such as Ron’s.

“Let’s get started,” Harper said Tuesday. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

A pleasant guy whose face turns studious when he puts on his black-rimmed eyeglasses, Harper has adjusted to the change of scenery and has accepted his fate as the man who’s going to take the Clippers into the 1990s. With Danny Manning healing up, Benoit Benjamin slimming down, Gary Grant on the point and Charles Smith working with Ken Norman at his sides, this on-target off-guard could carry the Clips to the promised land--or at least help them win 30 games.

All he cost Los Angeles was the body of Reggie Williams and the ghost of Danny Ferry. In return, the Clippers got some juicy draft choices and a man they ought to call Ron the Offense--a guy who averaged close to 23 points a game as a rookie and hasn’t slowed down much since.

Did Cleveland make a mistake?

“Well, my opinion doesn’t count,” Harper said, handling a tricky question as deftly as he does a basketball. “I think I’ll just hold my opinion for now.”

So, now that he’s impartial, who’s going to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference?

“Ah, another tricky question,” Harper said. “Why put me on the spot?

“OK, let me just say that I hope Cleveland wins the conference and goes to the (NBA) Finals. I’ve got respect for my teammates. They’ve grown a lot as a team the last couple of years.”

Have they? You bet they have. Until Harper arrived, the Cavaliers never had a winning season in this decade. One year they went 15-67, another year 23-59. Sound familiar? The year Harper got drafted out of Miami of Ohio, Cleveland had just gone 29-53. That’s how dead the Cavs were. They were zombies with numbers. Basket cases.

Those records remind you of anybody? The Clippers, maybe? Did you know that before Harper came on the scene, the Cavaliers won fewer games than the Clippers in the ‘80s? That the Clippers had the better record in 1980-’81, in ‘81-’82, in ‘82-’83, in ‘83-’84, in ‘85-’86?

And now, the Cavaliers are contenders, they’re somebodies, instead of bums, which is what they were, let’s face it.

A few of his teammates made a beeline for Ron Harper’s house the day he was traded. Hot Rod Williams, Randolph Keys, some of his best buds. “It was an emotional thing for us,” Harper said. “Hard to say goodby when you’ve shared so much.”

Still, it’s nice to be needed, no matter where.

The Clippers need Harper, need him like mice need cheese. Without him, they were going no place. Their main advertising pitch remained: “Good Seats Available.” They were going to wail in the moonlight, like Timberwolves. But now, now they have a fighting chance. A chance to be interesting. A chance to do some business. A chance to (gulp) make the playoffs sometime soon?

Hold onto your seats, while they’re still cheap.

“Nobody made jokes about the Clippers back in Cleveland,” Harper said. “We have too much respect to do that. No, the word was, this was a very young team that definitely needed some leadership.”

He just never expected to be their leader.

“Well, that’s the general idea, I guess. That’s what they got me for,” Harper said.

“I’ve had other ballplayers be leaders on my teams before. Now, I guess it’s Ron Harper’s turn. It shows the team has a high regard for me, that the Clippers have a lot of confidence in me. I’d like to pay that back. I’d like to help make this team a . . . a . . . “

Team like Cleveland’s?

“Exactly,” he said.