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CLIPPER REPORT : Team Signs Top Draft Pick Lamond Murray

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

California forward Lamond Murray, the Clippers’ top draft pick, ended a two-week holdout Thursday night, signing a multiyear deal with the club, a source close to Murray said.

Murray had been seeking a contract that paid him $2.4 million in his first season.

The Clippers are expected to announce the deal today.

Murray’s agent, Fred Slaughter, was not available for comment and efforts to reach Clipper officials were unsuccessful.

It isn’t known whether Murray will join the club in time to play in tonight’s exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings at UC Davis.

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A 6-foot-7 small forward, Murray was the seventh player selected in the draft. He is expected to replace All-Star forward Dominique Wilkins, who signed with the Boston Celtics.

Murray, who averaged 24.3 points per game last season to lead the Pacific 10 in scoring, needed only three seasons to break Kevin Johnson’s school scoring record with 1,688 points, a 19.1 average.

Murray, the Clippers’ sixth lottery pick in the last 10 years, might make an immediate impact on the Clippers.

“I like the fact that he can do several things,” Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said after the Clippers selected Murray. “He can really shoot the basketball, and that’s something we have lacked--a terrific perimeter shooter from the (small forward) position. He can run the floor very well and finish the play on the fast break and he’s a good post-up player.”

Clipper assistant Barry Hecker, who scouted Murray, agreed.

“When I first started scouting I asked, ‘What makes a player?’ and they said, ‘The guy who pops out at you,”’ Hecker said.

“Lamond Murray was the guy who popped out at me. He’s got all kinds of talent. He could be an All-Star if he works at it.”

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The Clippers have reached a settlement with Coach Bob Weiss, who was fired last May with two years left on a three-year contract. Weiss, who was due to receive $1.2 million, stopped receiving paychecks last July. Terms were not released.

The Clippers made their first cuts, waiving guards Keith Smart and Alphonso Ford, center Robert Werdann and forward Isaiah Morris. That left them with 17 players. . . . Center Stanley Roberts, who reported to camp overweight and out of shape, went through a complete practice for the first time and said he felt good.

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