SIMPLE SUBTRACTION : Clipper Shooting Guards Setting Sights on Available Spots

Shooting guards, who earn their money by adding 2s and 3s to the scoreboard, are also able to subtract, especially when the equation is a simple one.

At the Clippers’ camp, that calculates to seven guards fighting for five available spots.

“Anyone in camp can see that there’s still basically two cuts to be made, maybe three,” said Grant Gondrezick, the former Pepperdine Wave and Phoenix Sun who is one of those on the bubble.

Since the competition at point guard has boiled down to Norm Nixon and Gary Grant, the logjam is at shooting guard. So, before the season opens Nov. 4 at Philadelphia, a couple of guards figure to be gone.

The starting job is Reggie Williams’ for the taking because Mike Woodson, last season’s primary starter, signed with the Houston Rockets after becoming a free agent. But Williams, a second-year player from Georgetown has yet to take charge.

“When it’s time, I’ll be there,” Williams said.

In Coach Gene Shue’s thinking, that would be nice.

“It all revolves around Reggie,” Shue said. “Reggie is the guy I had hoped would come into camp free of injury and establish himself, but that has not happened.”

So, the starting job still is open and the prospects look something like this after 7 days of camp:

--Williams. His rookie season was marred by injuries, especially the second half, and he spent much of the summer rehabilitating. At camp, has been hobbled by sore toes.

“I think I can do a lot of things for a shooting guard--rebound, play defense and pass,” he said.

--Quintin Dailey. With Woodson and Michael Cage gone, he’s the No. 1 returning scorer from last season at 13.4 points a game. A veteran and an offensive threat.

--Gondrezick. At 6 feet 5 inches, has been used mostly in practice at small forward, where he played some at Pepperdine. Up front, he gets the difficult task of matching up in scrimmages against 6-8 Ken Norman, who also is listed as a guard but probably won’t be one.

“He does fine there,” Shue said of Gondrezick.

His versatility and previous National Basketball Assn. experience are pluses.

--Tom Garrick. The rookie from Rhode Island was given a look during summer leagues as a ballhandler, but he did not pan out. With Nixon and Grant primed for the point, it’s probably just as well for Garrick that his future is as a shooter.

“I come in every day saying to myself that I have a legitimate chance to make the team,” he said. “I hope I do.”

He does.

--Tracy Moore. The least known of the group averaged 21.3 points a game last season while earning All-Missouri Valley Conference honors at Tulsa for the third straight season. Better yet, Shue rates him an outstanding shooter.

--Grant. Shue has been flirting with the idea of a small lineup with 6-3 Grant and 6-2 Norm Nixon in the backcourt. In that alignment, Grant would be the shooting guard. Grant is still regarded primarily as a point guard, though, because of his ballhandling skills.

--Nixon. A veteran who provides invaluable leadership. Definitely a point guard.

That leaves Norman. He is listed as a guard, but the Clippers prefer that he is on the front line. Still, if rookie Charles Smith is able to take over at small forward, and Norman continues to shoot as well as he has in the opening days of practice, he could wind up in the backcourt.

Clipper Notes

The Clippers, still without Danny Manning, play the first of their 7 exhibition games tonight when they meet the Sacramento Kings at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. . . . Clipper Coach Gene Shue figures to start a lineup of Norm Nixon and Reggie Williams at guard, Ken Norman and Joe Wolf at forward and Benoit Benjamin at center and then work in the rookies and free agents. . . . The Manning contract talks continue, with no progress. The Clippers still have their offer of $1.5 million a year on the table and Manning’s agent, Ron Grinker, has yet to make a firm request, saying he is reassessing the numbers daily. Manning is one of two first-round draft choices still unsigned. The other is Derrick Chievous of Houston.