Fitch Dreads the Final Roster Cuts

What is the most unpleasant part of Bill Fitch’s job?

No, not that he’s coaching the Clippers. He likes doing that.

What he doesn’t like is the next week, the week before the regular-season opener when he and General Manager Elgin Baylor must trim their roster, which now includes 17 names.

“I hate to do it,” said Fitch when asked when the inevitable cuts would be made. “I don’t rush into it. When it’s time, somebody [in the front office] will call me and tell me.”

That call will come next week, but Fitch plans on giving as many players as possible one last chance tonight when his team closes out its exhibition season against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Sports Arena. Tip-off is at 7:30.

“I’m going to give some of the kids a shot to see what they can do,” said Fitch, although he already knows full well what they can and can’t do.

What would a player have to do, at this late stage, to change Fitch’s mind?

“I don’t expect to see them grow and suddenly be as big as [Portland’s 7-foot-3, 280-pound center, Arvydas] Sabonis,” the Clipper coach said.

In other words, it would take a miracle for some.

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An MRI exam on the sore right foot of guard James Robinson was negative, confirming that he is suffering from nothing more serious than a bone bruise. . . . Rookie center Keith Closs, attending his grandmother’s funeral in Connecticut, is expected back over the weekend.