Harper, Manning Held Out by Weiss : Clippers: The two starters are benched for skipping practice.

Danny Manning and Ron Harper, the Clippers’ leading scorers, were held out of Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers by Coach Bob Weiss because they missed practice on Monday.

“I didn’t feel it was a belligerent thing or a malicious thing, but I didn’t feel it was something we could let pass,” Weiss said. “For the betterment of the team, I felt that this had to be done.”

Weiss said that Manning and Harper weren’t suspended for skipping the Clippers’ first practice after the All-Star break. However, he declined to reveal whether they were fined. Charles Grantham, executive director of the National Basketball Players Assn., said $300 is the maximum a player can be fined for skipping practice.

Manning and Harper, who is often outspoken, made a quick getaway to avoid reporters after the game. They dressed in the shower room and left through a door between the King and Laker locker room, walking up the service ramp after the Clippers defeated the Lakers for the first time in four games this season, 100-89.

“It’s nice to be able to stand by your principles and still win,” Weiss said. “This was a difficult decision. I think they both had relatively legitimate excuses, but I still think I had to make a statement to the team.”

Tired after playing in Sunday’s All-Star game, Manning skipped practice without informing the Clippers. The club booked Manning on an early morning flight from Minneapolis so he could make the practice, which began at 4:30 p.m.

Why did Manning skip practice?

“Danny was home sleeping because he was at the entertainment parties for the NBA (during all-star week) at their urging,” said Ron Grinker, Manning’s agent. “From seven o’clock in the morning until late in the evening Saturday, he was tied up making commitments for them.

“Danny said that certainly he should be fined for not being at practice. He got up and it would have taken him an hour and a half to get to practice with the traffic. . . . He chose not to go. You haven’t heard us say he was right. All that aside, he should have been at practice. He was wrong. He didn’t make it.

“The Players Assn. has been advised of this and they’re going to deal with it. It seems that everyone has to deal with the Clippers except the Clippers. It’s another black eye for the Clippers.”

It’s unlikely that the Players Assn. will get involved because Manning and Harper weren’t suspended.

Said Clipper spokesman Joe Safety: “That’s standard, useless Grinker rhetoric. It obviously serves toward his own personal agenda to say that. It’s an extension of his longstanding vendetta, and I think everybody’s getting tired of it.”

Harper, who spent the all-star break at his Cleveland-area home, missed his flight to Los Angeles.

With the NBA trading deadline only eight days away, there have been reports that the Clippers are trying to trade Manning, who can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The New York Daily News reported Tuesday that the Manning would be going to Orlando as part of a three-way deal with the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers would trade Manning to the Kings for forward Lionel Simmons and and Dean Causwell. The Kings would then ship Manning to Orlando for Dennis Scott and several first round draft choices.