NBA : Clipper Center Roberts Faces Heavy Fine

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said center Stanley Roberts, who reported to training camp overweight and out of shape, will be suspended without pay when the regular season opens Nov. 3 unless he meets a weight clause in his contract.

Roberts is due to earn $3 million this season.

“His contract specifies what his condition has to be and, if he doesn’t meet that, he’ll open on the suspended list,” Fitch said. “He hasn’t got a lot of time to do a lot of the things he’s going to have to do.”

Listed in the Clipper media guide at 7-feet, 290 pounds, Roberts appears to weigh more than 300. However, neither he nor the club would reveal his weight or how much his contract specifies he must weigh.

Roberts, who hasn’t played a regular season game in nearly two years because of Achilles’ tendon injuries, is being held out of practice and exhibition games until he loses weight.

“He’s light years away,” Fitch said. “Each days goes by and he can’t scrimmage. His deal is that he’s got to be down in weight in order to play basketball. If he doesn’t get the weight down, then he doesn’t get into the contact drills. Once he gets the weight down, he’s got to get into shape to play the game.”

Meanwhile, the Clippers waived 7-3 center Constantin Popa, their second-round draft pick. Hampered by a sore back, Popa hadn’t played in the Clippers’ four exhibition games.