Ex-Clipper Center Could Become an Unrestricted Free Agent

When can teammates actually be opponents?

When it’s Danny Ferry and Benoit Benjamin.

Still Clipper property in National Basketball Assn. terms, they will meet Jan. 14, when Ferry and Il Messaggero take on Benjamin and Philips Milano. The teams also played two weeks ago.

The Clippers will retain Ferry’s rights until he sits out a full season from professional basketball or is traded, which continues to be rumored. But as a veteran, Benjamin’s rights cannot be traded, according to an NBA spokesman, and he will become an unrestricted free agent after playing two seasons overseas. That would allow him to sign with any NBA team without the Clippers having the chance to match, the case now as a restricted free agent.

Il Messaggero is 1-4, but Ferry remains very popular with fans, having won over fans by diving for loose balls and making great passes. A 6-foot-10 team player gets accepted even if he’s not rebounding particularly well.