Vaught Is Pumped for Season

Forward Loy Vaught, who was pounded by Karl Malone as the Utah Jazz swept the Clippers out of the playoffs in three games last season, bulked up in the off-season.

“I saw how much Karl’s strength helped his game,” Vaught said. “I stole a page from his book. After playing him in the playoffs I thought it would be beneficial for me to see what I can do.”

Vaught, who played at 235 pounds last season, added 15 pounds of muscle this summer.

“I went out and got myself a trainer and dedicated myself to five days a week,” Vaught said. “I saw some results.

“I was hoping to come back stronger and prevent injuries. I’m probably a bit deflated since camp started because I haven’t been able to hit the weights.”

Coach Bill Fitch said the added bulk will help Vaught, the Clippers’ leading rebounder, on the boards.

“I think when he played Malone he saw that he could use a little bit of [muscle],” Fitch said.

This could be a crucial season for Vaught, who is in the final year of his contract.

Vaught, who has seen many teammates become embittered because of nasty contract disputes in seven seasons with the Clippers, wants to let his contract take care of itself.

“I’m just going to think about basketball,” Vaught said. “I just want to remain in the present tense. I don’t want to think about down the line. That’s how I play best.”

Said Fitch: “He’ll play hard whether it’s the first year of his contract or the last. I don’t want him to panic and feel that he has to play well because it’s the last year of his contract. He’s got a lot of motivation other than that.”

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Guard Brent Barry said the Clippers, who are coming off their first playoff appearance in four seasons, are ahead of where they were last season.

“The past couple of years we’ve had to go through a lot of the basics of our offense like passing and cutting [in training camp],” Barry said. “We haven’t had to do that this year. We jumped right into scrimmaging and that’s certainly helped us progress a lot faster.”

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Free agent forward Quinn Harwood missed practice Tuesday night and Wednesday morning because of a sprained right ankle.