Just a Day at the Clipper Circus : Pro basketball: Bo Kimble signs his contract and then the fun begins as both sides argue over statements made earlier.

On the surface, Bo Kimble’s one-day holdout ended in expected fashion Saturday when Clipper uniform No. 30 was displayed. Coach Mike Schuler talked of how his newest player will contribute, and Kimble laughed and smiled for all to see.

“The negotiations are past, and what is important now is that Bo is a member of the Clipper family, and we’re all going to be going out this season watching him shoot the lights out,” team attorney Bob Steele said. “That’s what this is about. It is not about two or three months ago. That’s old news. It’s dead and buried.”

Hardly. Problems were still very much alive.

Considering Kimble had already signed the paper work, what happened in a small banquet room at a City of Industry hotel was theater of the bizarre. After the news conference started 90 minutes late, Kimble’s agent Leonard Armato said his client would hold out until the Clippers released a statement apologizing for harsh comments during negotiations.

Steele then entered the room and had pointed exchanges with Armato in front of several members of the media. Steele said the Clippers had nothing to apologize for but, after Armato talked some more about holding out, the team released the statement.

Kimble says he will be in camp today.

“This is the last thing I thought would happen when I got here,” Armato said.

It was a new page of Clipper lore. What could top representatives for the two sides be sniping about hours after signing a five-year, $7.25-million contract?

The statement that irritated Armato quoted Steele as saying: “If Leonard Armato had proposed at the start a deal at $1.5 million a year and no strange provisions, this agreement would have been concluded in 24 hours.”

Armato said Kimble was upset when he read that and wasn’t going to come to the news conference. “He was very upset. Only after we talked to Bob Steele and he agreed to make a statement apologizing did Bo agree to come.”

And during the news conference, one couldn’t tell that there were problems. Kimble said all the right things. He said he was happy to be a Clipper, the team he truly hoped would draft him. He looked forward to competing for a starting shooting guard spot.

“We couldn’t be happier Bo is a Clipper,” owner Donald T. Sterling said. “When all is said and done, the agreement we reached was fair for everyone and everyone can be very pleased.”

It was only afterward that Armato spoke up.

“This morning Bo picked up the paper and was really disturbed regarding the comments made about the negotiations. Bob Steele and the Clipper organization promised that if Bo shows up, the Clippers will recant many of the things said and tell what really transpired (Friday) and the real tenor of the negotiations.

“I will advise Bo not to report until everything is resolved in writing. I don’t trust that organization anymore. Beyond that, I’m very disappointed. He has a contract, yes, but at the same time there were representations made to him that have not held true.”

The Clippers had originally decided against a statement in writing so as to not raise the issue. Steele said they did not want to “detract from the moment.”

There were also other minor points about tickets for charity. Kimble wanted to start a foundation that would allow charity organizations free tickets to Clipper games. Armato wanted it in writing, but the Clippers said it wasn’t necessary.

Finally, in an impromptu post-news conference, Steele said: “We don’t find any fault in Bo’s representatives making advanced proposals in good faith.”

Armato, sitting a few feet away, countered: “Bob, you’ve said that 16 times. Are we getting the press release or not?”

At 4:45 p.m., the circus left town. Kimble, his adviser, David Spencer, and Armato got the release.

“I wish to clarify for the record that the Clippers at all times considered the proposals from Bo’s representatives to be advanced in good faith and reasonable in NBA negotiations for players of Bo’s stature,” the statement read in part. “We regret if any statements made during negotiations would imply otherwise, for we could not be more delighted and excited about Bo’s future with the Clippers.”

Apology accepted.

Armato was particularly upset that the Clippers had characterized some of his demands as ludicrous. Specifically, clauses that Kimble would become a restricted free agent--not unrestricted, as team officials had been saying--if he made the all-star team two years in a row and others calling for $100,000 for making appearances, a $1-million signing bonus and a $1-million loan.

No one ever denied those requests were made. Armato said he did not cave in to get the deal done Friday and signed Saturday. “You should have seen them (the Clippers) groveling this morning,” he said.

Steele scoffed, but decided not to press the issue.

Kimble, Aramto and Spencer, at long last, approved the statement.

“It’s official,” Kimble said. “Time to go to work.”