First-Round Pick Taylor Signs With Clippers

The Clippers signed former Michigan forward Maurice Taylor to a three-year contract Sunday, 18 days after they made him the 14th overall selection in the 1997 NBA draft.

Because the 1995 NBA collective bargaining agreement established a rookie wage scale, the Clippers did not have to haggle with length and terms of the agreement.

Terms were not disclosed, but Taylor, like all first-round draft picks, receives a guaranteed three-year contract. The dollar amount is within 20% of the rookie scale for players selected 14th.

According to the wage scale, the average salary for a player selected at Taylor’s draft position is $803,500 for the first year, $924,000 for the second, and $1,044,500 for the third.

In his final season at Michigan, Taylor averaged 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. He applied for the draft after his junior season and was the 10th underclassman taken.

“He’s got a classic NBA power forward’s body, plus he can run and jump and his shooting skills are very good,” Elgin Baylor, the Clippers’ vice president of basketball operations, told the Associated Press.

Taylor will be competing for playing time with Loy Vaught, another former Michigan standout; Lorenzen Wright, last year’s first round pick; Rodney Rogers; and Lamond Murray.

Signing early should help Taylor, a third-team All-Big Ten selection in 1996-97, make a favorable impression. He began working out Sunday with the Clipper summer league team, which includes guard Brent Barry and free agents. James Collins, a former Florida State guard who was selected by Philadelphia in the second round and traded to the Clippers, is also expected to play.

Taylor could play his first game today during the Fila Summer Pro League at the Pyramid in Long Beach.