Clippers to Taylor: No Deal : Pro basketball: Team isn’t willing to give promising power forward a $71-million contract.

Staying true to his reputation as an owner who does not like to pay big money to keep players, the Clippers’ Donald Sterling has decided not to give the maximum contract extension to power forward Maurice Taylor.

Although the team could change its position before the league’s Oct. 31 extension deadline for third-year players, it is doubtful that the Clippers will grant Taylor the six-year, $70.9-million extension he and his agent, David Falk, are seeking.

Taylor, who led the team in scoring last season at 16.8 points a game, is regarded as one of the NBA’s top young players, but the Clippers are reluctant to make a long-term commitment because of his low rebounding numbers and history of not being in top condition. Last season, Taylor arrived at training camp out of shape and averaged only 5.3 rebounds.

“I have the utmost respect for Maurice Taylor and the role that he plays in contributing to our team’s development,” Elgin Baylor, vice president of basketball operations, said Wednesday in a statement. “However, it would be best if Maurice would have the opportunity in this the final year of his contract to further develop his game and therefore justify an agreement to extend him a long-term contract of $12 million a year.”

Falk said he would ask the Clippers to trade Taylor if an extension is not done before the team opens training camp Oct. 5. But that too is unlikely for Taylor, the 14th pick in the 1997 draft who will earn $1,367,400 in the final season of his three-year rookie contract.

“At the present time, we are not seeking a trade involving Maurice Taylor,” said Baylor, who met with Falk earlier this month. “He is under contract for the 1999-2000 season and is expected to be on board and ready to play.”

Falk, who did not return phone calls Wednesday, also said if a trade is not made, Taylor would play out his final year and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

“I’m not worried about it because next year it’s virtually certain that Maurice will play for the NBA maximum,” Falk said before his meeting with Baylor.

For the Clippers, losing Taylor without getting anything in return would be a major blow. After an off-season in which the team added Lamar Odom, Derek Anderson and Johnny Newman to the roster and re-signed Tyrone Nesby and Eric Piatkowski, word around the league had the Clippers as a team on the rise with Michael Olowokandi, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, and young players Troy Hudson, Brian Skinner and Charles Smith already in the fold.

But Taylor is considered the key, a player the Clippers could build around and the power forward needed to compete in the Western Conference, against Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Chris Webber, Brian Grant, Antonio McDyess and Kevin Garnett.

If the Clippers lose Taylor, who already is looked upon as a leader by Olowokandi and Odom, it would not be the first time Sterling allowed a foundation for the team to fall apart because he didn’t agree to Falk’s demands.

In the late 1980s, Falk represented three first-round Clipper picks, Reggie Williams, Ken Norman and Charles Smith. All became former Clippers when it came time to negotiate new contracts.

And remember Danny Manning?

Manning was drafted No. 1 overall in 1988 and established himself as one of the league’s better players, but when it came time for him to become a free agent, the Clippers traded him during the 1993-94 season to Atlanta for an aging Dominique Wilkins and a conditional first-round pick.

Only time will tell if Sterling is starting this cycle over again.