Clippers Will Also Begin Camp Without a Player Named Bo

Bo Kimble will add his name to the ever-growing list of Clipper rookie holdouts today when training camp begins at Cal Poly Pomona.

No Clipper No. 1 draft choice has been in camp for the first week since Lancaster Gordon in 1984, discounting 1986, when the team had no first- or second-round picks. Kimble joins Benoit Benjamin (1985), Reggie Williams (1987) and Danny Manning (1988). Last season, Danny Ferry went to Italy before negotiations opened.

“I’m shocked and disappointed we don’t have a deal done so Bo could be in camp on time,” said Leonard Armato, agent for the No. 8 selection in the draft.

The sides are about $150,000 apart, annually, in what currently is a five-year deal, with the Clippers basing their offer on what choices Nos. 7 and 9 got, and Armato believed to be looking for an average of a little more than $1.5 million a year because of Kimble’s marketability.

The Clippers must announce today whether they will match Joe Wolf’s offer sheet from the Denver Nuggets. Wolf got tired of waiting for what he considers a predictable decision and has been in Denver for several days.