Baylor Signs New Clipper Contract : Deal Is Reportedly for Three Years; Hawks Win Exhibition

Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor signed a new contract with the team Thursday.

Baylor, 53, whose one-year contract expired last summer, reportedly got a three-year deal worth more than $100,000 a year.

Sources within the club said the move was owner Donald Sterling’s way of rewarding Baylor for the trades he has made in an attempt to rebuild the Clippers, who finished with the third-worst record in NBA history last season, 12-70.

After succeeding Carl Scheer in April 1986, Baylor engineered trades that gave the Clippers three first-round choices, two second-round picks and a third-round selection in this year’s draft.

“I’m very pleased with the direction of the team,” Sterling said in a prepared statement. “Elgin has done an outstanding job of successfully reorganizing our basketball program. I surely believe that Elgin’s plan to patiently rebuild the team through the draft is going to be a great success.”

Baylor also played a key role in hiring Coach Gene Shue and signing the three first-round draft picks--Reggie Williams, Joe Wolf and Ken Norman.

“I’m very excited about the future of the team,” Baylor said in a statement released by the team. “We’re on the right track now, and with two more first-round draft picks in 1988, we will have another excellent opportunity to improve our team.”

Dominique Wilkins scored 25 points as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Clippers, 107-81, in an exhibition game Thursday night at Huntington, W. Va.

The Hawks, who led, 61-44, at halftime, shot 59% and made 67% of their free throws in the game, compared to 39% and 50% for the Clippers.

Wilkins made 11 of 14 shots and 3 of 4 free throws in 25 minutes, all but seven in the first half. John Battle added 12 points, and Kevin Willis pulled down 14 rebounds for the Hawks (4-2).

Mike Woodson led the Clippers with 17 points, and Williams added 12, including two three-pointers, for the Clippers (2-5). The Clippers have lost their last four games.

A crowd of 5,543 watched the exhibition at the Cam Henderson Center on the Marshall University campus.

Clipper Notes The Clippers haven’t made much progress in salary negotiations with free-agent forward Michael Cage, who is seeking a contract that will pay him $800,000 a season. The Clippers, who were thought to be offering $500,000 a season, have sweetened the deal by adding performance bonuses, but Cage’s agent hasn’t responded to the new contract proposal. Also unsigned are free-agent forwards Tim Kempton, Kenny Fields and Earl Cureton.