Clippers Have a Cavalier Attitude

Meet your emerging 1999-2000 Clippers, as ever, a team in transition.

Three of their free agents, Rodney Rogers, Lamond Murray and Darrick Martin, already are gone and four more are sorting through offers, or waiting to get one.

Rogers left for a $2-million exception--and a $1-million pay cut--in Phoenix. Martin signed with Sacramento. Murray went to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade deal for Derek Anderson, who figures to be the Clipper starter at shooting guard, and Johnny Newman, who can back up at big guard and small forward.

“Derek is a very talented player, very competitive, very athletic,” Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said. “Our coaches want to play a more up-tempo game, and he’s the type of player who’ll excel at that. He’s a player who likes to put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket. He’s not a great outside shooter, but I think he’s going to improve.”

Said Anderson: “I think this is a real good move for me in that I’ll get a chance to excel. They don’t have too many ‘two’ guards on their roster, and I’m looking forward to a chance to play.”

Newman is an old Chris Ford favorite, having played for the Clipper coach in Milwaukee.

“Johnny Newman is a consummate professional,” Ford said. “He always comes ready to play, and he’s a great person to have in the organization. I think the guy is going into his 14th year for numerous teams, but he always comes ready to play.”

The remaining Clipper free agents are: Tyrone Nesby and Eric Piatkowski, last season’s starters at small forward and shooting guard, respectively, whom the team hopes to keep; Sherman Douglas, last season’s starting point guard, who isn’t expected back; and Lorenzen Wright, a bright young power forward they’d like to keep but who wants out.

Several teams are interested in Wright, although it isn’t clear how many can or would match the $5 million a year from the Clippers he has turned down. Indiana, which has a $4.5-million slot, has been trying to negotiate a sign-and-trade, but the Clippers don’t want the players the Pacers have offered--Travis Best, Austin Croshere--and the Pacers haven’t offered Jalen Rose, whom the Clippers do want.

Wright had been expected to go to Atlanta for Jim Jackson, but at the last moment, a source says, Hawk Coach Lenny Wilkens decided he didn’t want to depend on Isaiah Rider and needed Jackson. The Clippers then went to their fall-back position, getting Anderson from Cleveland--the problem being that Jackson has two more years under contract and Anderson will be a free agent next summer.

Baylor says the Clippers would still like to sign Wright, but Wright’s agent, Robert Fayne, says that “is not an option for us right now.”

“I think Lorenzen feels it’s in his best interest to explore opportunities with other teams around the NBA,” Fayne said from New York on Wednesday.

“I think it has more to do with the personnel. They have a center [Michael Olowokandi] they’re committed to. They have a power forward [Maurice Taylor] they’re committed to. There’s not a starting position for him with the Los Angeles Clippers, and a number of teams are looking for starting centers and starting power forwards. Those are the teams we’re more interested in.”

Milwaukee asked about Wright but offered only Chris Gatling, Ervin Johnson, Armon Gilliam or Vinny Del Negro. Like the Pacers, the Bucks are capped and could pay more than the $2-million exception only with a sign-and-trade.

Chicago and Toronto have shown interest in Wright and both have more than $10 million in cap room.

The projected Clipper starting lineup would be Olowokandi, Taylor, Anderson, rookie Lamar Odom and Troy Hudson. That would give them two new Clippers (Anderson and Odom), two players starting their second season with the team (Hudson and Olowokandi) and one starting his third (Taylor)--who, like Anderson, is in his free-agent season.

The Clippers plan to meet with Taylor’s agent, David Falk, to discuss a new contract but aren’t going that far on Anderson, at the moment.

“Falk will be in to talk about Maurice,” Baylor said. “I think it’s Aug. 20.

“I think we have to get to know Derek Anderson, spend some time talking with him, see how he plays and just see how well we think he can fit in. We think he’s going to fit in well, but this is something we have to see. And then we can talk about that. From all indications, what we’ve seen of him, we believe he’s someone we’d like to be part of this.”

Said Anderson, advised of Baylor’s comments: “Well, if they have to do that [wait], they don’t know what they’re getting.”

They’ll see, soon enough.

Staff writer Lonnie White contributed to this story.